American Century Companies Inc. Has $4.25 Million Stock Holdings in HBT Financial, Inc. $HBT

Key Points

• American Century Companies Inc. increased its stake in HBT Financial by 42.4%, now owning 189,727 shares valued at approximately $4.25 million.
• HBT Financial recently reported earnings per share of $0.63, surpassing analysts' expectations of $0.60, with a net margin of 26.22%.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.21, representing an annualized dividend yield of 3.2% based on a payout ratio of 34.71%.

American Century Companies Inc. lifted its stake in shares of HBT Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:HBT - Free Report) by 42.4% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 189,727 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 56,521 shares during the quarter. American Century Companies Inc. owned about 0.60% of HBT Financial worth $4,252,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its position in HBT Financial by 4.2% during the first 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 during the period. Nuveen LLC bought a new position in HBT Financial during the first quarter worth about $786,000. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. increased its position in HBT Financial by 8.7% during the first quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 22,817 shares of the company's stock worth $511,000 after acquiring an additional 1,818 shares during the period. Royce & Associates LP increased its position in HBT Financial by 8.2% during the first quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 359,922 shares of the company's stock worth $8,066,000 after acquiring an additional 27,169 shares during the period. Finally, Rosenthal Henry Capital Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in HBT Financial by 120.1% in the 1st quarter. Rosenthal Henry Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 93,536 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,096,000 after buying an additional 51,036 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.55% of the company's stock.

HBT Financial Price Performance

Shares of HBT traded up $0.64 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $26.59. The company had a trading volume of 22,592 shares, compared to its average volume of 27,376. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $25.78 and its 200 day simple moving average is $24.24. HBT Financial, Inc. has a 1-year low of $19.46 and a 1-year high of $27.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 0.82. The company has a market capitalization of $837.59 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.99 and a beta of 0.66.

HBT Financial (NASDAQ:HBT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 21st. The company reported $0.63 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.60 by $0.03. HBT Financial had a net margin of 26.22% and a return on equity of 13.98%. The company had revenue of $58.80 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $59.45 million. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.57 EPS. Analysts expect that HBT Financial, Inc. will post 2.34 EPS for the current year.

HBT Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 12th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 5th were paid a $0.21 dividend. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 5th. HBT Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 34.71%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

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.