HBT Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:HBT) Sees Large Growth in Short Interest

HBT Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:HBT) was the target of a large growth in short interest in the month of November. As of November 15th, there was short interest totalling 73,700 shares, a growth of 16.2% from the October 31st total of 63,400 shares. Currently, 0.6% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 29,800 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.5 days.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have commented on HBT shares. DA Davidson cut shares of HBT Financial from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $26.00 to $24.00 in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Piper Sandler cut their target price on HBT Financial from $25.00 to $24.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $24.40.

Insider Transactions at HBT Financial

In other HBT Financial news, Chairman Fred L. Drake sold 4,798 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.92, for a total value of $114,768.16. Following the sale, the chairman now owns 86,672 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,073,194.24. This trade represents a 5.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 11,998 shares of company stock worth $291,710. 59.80% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of HBT Financial

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of HBT Financial by 0.8% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 626,575 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,930,000 after acquiring an additional 5,183 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of HBT Financial in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $6,497,000. Acadian Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in HBT Financial by 19.0% in the second quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 95,606 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,949,000 after buying an additional 15,242 shares during the last quarter. LSV Asset Management raised its position in HBT Financial by 1,082.5% during the second quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 113,808 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,324,000 after acquiring an additional 104,184 shares in the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. lifted its stake in HBT Financial by 5.1% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 119,698 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,444,000 after acquiring an additional 5,859 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.55% of the company’s stock.

HBT Financial Price Performance

HBT stock traded down $0.17 on Tuesday, hitting $23.86. 21,735 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 28,704. HBT Financial has a 1-year low of $17.75 and a 1-year high of $25.35. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $22.63 and a 200-day moving average of $21.54. The stock has a market cap of $753.02 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.92 and a beta of 0.87. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20.

HBT Financial (NASDAQ:HBT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, October 21st. The company reported $0.61 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.58 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $56.44 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $57.05 million. HBT Financial had a return on equity of 14.70% and a net margin of 24.68%. On average, analysts forecast that HBT Financial will post 2.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

HBT Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, November 12th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 4th were paid a dividend of $0.19 per share. This represents a $0.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.19%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 4th. HBT Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 34.55%.

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.