Royce & Associates LP Boosts Stock Position in HBT Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:HBT)

Key Points

• Royce & Associates LP increased its stake in HBT Financial by 8.2%, owning a total of 359,922 shares worth approximately $8.06 million as of the latest reporting period.
• Brokerages have raised their target prices for HBT Financial, with Raymond James setting a new target of $30.00, reflecting a significant increase from prior values.
• The company recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.21 per share, translating to an annualized yield of 3.27%, to be paid on August 12th.

Royce & Associates LP increased its position in shares of HBT Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:HBT - Free Report) by 8.2% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 359,922 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 27,169 shares during the period. Royce & Associates LP owned about 1.14% of HBT Financial worth $8,066,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS bought a new stake in shares of HBT Financial in the 4th quarter valued at about $57,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in shares of HBT Financial by 4,457.6% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,689 shares of the company's stock valued at $600,000 after purchasing an additional 2,630 shares in the last quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN boosted its position in shares of HBT Financial by 27.8% during the 4th quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 7,522 shares of the company's stock valued at $165,000 after purchasing an additional 1,638 shares in the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. bought a new stake in shares of HBT Financial during the 4th quarter valued at about $242,000. Finally, Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in HBT Financial in the first quarter worth approximately $264,000. Institutional investors own 78.55% of the company's stock.

HBT Financial Price Performance

NASDAQ HBT traded up $0.22 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $25.75. 200 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 33,597. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $24.97 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $23.94. HBT Financial, Inc. has a 1 year low of $19.46 and a 1 year high of $26.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a current ratio of 0.83 and a quick ratio of 0.83. The company has a market cap of $811.13 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.64 and a beta of 0.58.

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 the consensus estimate 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 return on equity of 14.18% and a net margin of 26.22%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.57 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict 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 will be paid on Tuesday, August 12th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 5th will be given a dividend of $0.21 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 5th. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.26%. HBT Financial's payout ratio is 34.71%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have issued reports on HBT shares. DA Davidson increased their price target on HBT Financial from $23.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on HBT Financial from $26.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Hovde Group raised HBT Financial from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $28.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Raymond James Financial reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $30.00 price objective (up from $24.00) on shares of HBT Financial in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on HBT Financial from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, HBT Financial has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $28.80.

About HBT Financial

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.