HBT Financial (NASDAQ:HBT) Sees Unusually-High Trading Volume – Should You Buy?

Shares of HBT Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:HBT) saw unusually-high trading volume on Wednesday . Approximately 38,507 shares changed hands during trading, an increase of 14% from the previous session’s volume of 33,715 shares.The stock last traded at $26.95 and had previously closed at $26.99.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on HBT. DA Davidson set a $27.00 price target on HBT Financial in a research report on Tuesday, October 21st. Piper Sandler cut their price target on shares of HBT Financial from $29.00 to $27.50 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, October 21st. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of HBT Financial in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Raymond James Financial lowered HBT Financial from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 7th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, HBT Financial has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $28.50.

HBT Financial Stock Up 0.4%

The company has a market cap of $847.51 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.87 and a beta of 0.60. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10. The business has a fifty day moving average of $24.31 and a two-hundred day moving average of $24.97.

HBT Financial (NASDAQ:HBT) last released its earnings results on Monday, October 20th. The company reported $0.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.62 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $59.84 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $60.31 million. HBT Financial had a net margin of 26.64% and a return on equity of 13.81%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.61 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that HBT Financial, Inc. will post 2.34 EPS for the current fiscal year.

HBT Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, November 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 3rd were issued a $0.21 dividend. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 3rd. HBT Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 33.87%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On HBT Financial

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in HBT. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. raised its position in HBT Financial by 162.0% in the second quarter. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. now owns 107,004 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,698,000 after acquiring an additional 66,161 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. raised its stake in HBT Financial by 42.4% in the 1st quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 189,727 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,252,000 after purchasing an additional 56,521 shares during the last quarter. Rosenthal Henry Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of HBT Financial by 117.8% during the third quarter. Rosenthal Henry Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 92,547 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,332,000 after buying an additional 50,047 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in HBT Financial in the 1st quarter worth about $786,000. Finally, Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. grew its holdings in HBT Financial by 12.3% in the 1st quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. now owns 278,159 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,234,000 after buying an additional 30,467 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.55% of the company’s stock.

HBT Financial Company 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.