Hickory Point Bank & Trust Invests $438,000 in HBT Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:HBT)

Hickory Point Bank & Trust bought a new position in shares of HBT Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:HBT) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 20,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $438,000. Hickory Point Bank & Trust owned about 0.06% of HBT Financial as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. FMR LLC raised its stake in HBT Financial by 70.1% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 4,329 shares of the company’s stock worth $95,000 after purchasing an additional 1,784 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its stake in HBT Financial by 13.6% in the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 6,309 shares of the company’s stock worth $138,000 after purchasing an additional 756 shares in the last quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP acquired a new stake in HBT Financial in the 3rd quarter worth about $251,000. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. acquired a new stake in HBT Financial in the 3rd quarter worth about $295,000. Finally, Rhumbline Advisers raised its stake in HBT Financial by 9.0% in the 4th quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 20,758 shares of the company’s stock worth $455,000 after purchasing an additional 1,711 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.55% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have weighed in on HBT. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on shares of HBT Financial from $25.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Piper Sandler decreased their target price on shares of HBT Financial from $27.00 to $26.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $24.80.

HBT Financial Price Performance

HBT stock opened at $25.00 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. HBT Financial, Inc. has a 12 month low of $18.00 and a 12 month high of $26.25. The firm has a market cap of $788.98 million, a P/E ratio of 11.06 and a beta of 0.89. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $23.40 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $22.86.

HBT Financial (NASDAQ:HBT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The company reported $0.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.58 by $0.04. HBT Financial had a net margin of 24.99% and a return on equity of 14.57%. On average, analysts anticipate that HBT Financial, Inc. will post 2.34 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

HBT Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 11th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 4th were given a dividend of $0.21 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 4th. This is an increase from HBT Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.19. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.36%. HBT Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 37.17%.

HBT Financial announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback plan on Wednesday, December 18th that allows the company to buyback $15.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to reacquire up to 2.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Transactions at HBT Financial

In related news, Chairman Fred L. Drake sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.11, for a total transaction of $60,275.00. Following the transaction, the chairman now owns 71,170 shares in the company, valued at $1,715,908.70. The trade was a 3.39 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Patrick F. Busch sold 8,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.77, for a total transaction of $198,160.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 182,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,508,140. This trade represents a 4.21 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 41,400 shares of company stock worth $1,029,775. Company insiders own 59.80% of the company’s stock.

HBT Financial Profile

HBT Financial, Inc operates as the bank holding company for Heartland Bank and Trust Company that provides business, commercial, and retail banking products and services to individuals, businesses, and municipal entities in Central and Northeastern Illinois, and Eastern Iowa. The company's deposits accounts consist of noninterest-bearing demand deposits, interest-bearing transaction accounts, money market accounts, savings accounts, certificates of deposits, health savings accounts, and individual retirement accounts.