HBT Financial, Inc. $HBT Shares Purchased by Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C.

Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. lifted its position in shares of HBT Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:HBT - Free Report) by 12.3% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 278,159 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 30,467 shares during the period. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. owned about 0.88% of HBT Financial worth $6,234,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Trexquant Investment LP raised its stake in HBT Financial by 9.8% during the 1st quarter. Trexquant Investment LP now owns 18,361 shares of the company's stock worth $411,000 after acquiring an additional 1,646 shares in the last quarter. Martingale Asset Management L P raised its stake in HBT Financial by 5.3% during the 1st quarter. Martingale Asset Management L P now owns 46,535 shares of the company's stock worth $1,043,000 after acquiring an additional 2,363 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. raised its stake in HBT Financial by 42.4% during the 1st quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 189,727 shares of the company's stock worth $4,252,000 after acquiring an additional 56,521 shares in the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its stake in HBT Financial by 4.2% during the 1st quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 33,295 shares of the company's stock worth $746,000 after acquiring an additional 1,335 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in HBT Financial during the 1st quarter worth $786,000. 78.55% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently commented on HBT shares. Zacks Research upgraded shares of HBT Financial from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 13th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on shares of HBT Financial from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Raymond James Financial reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $30.00 price target (up from $24.00) on shares of HBT Financial in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. DA Davidson lifted their price target on shares of HBT Financial from $23.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Finally, Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on shares of HBT Financial from $26.00 to $29.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $28.80.

HBT Financial Price Performance

HBT stock traded down $0.41 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $25.80. 15,662 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 25,958. The company has a market cap of $812.70 million, a P/E ratio of 10.66 and a beta of 0.66. HBT Financial, Inc. has a 52-week low of $19.46 and a 52-week high of $27.02. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $25.82 and its 200 day moving average price is $24.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 0.82.

HBT Financial (NASDAQ:HBT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 21st. The company reported $0.63 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.60 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $58.80 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $59.45 million. HBT Financial had a net margin of 26.22% and a return on equity of 13.98%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.57 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that HBT Financial, Inc. will post 2.34 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

HBT Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 12th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 5th were issued a $0.21 dividend. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 5th. HBT Financial's dividend payout ratio is 34.71%.

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.