HBT Financial (NASDAQ:HBT) Sees Strong Trading Volume - Here's What Happened

Key Points

• HBT shares saw an unusual volume spike to 142,267 shares (up ~170% from the prior session) and last traded at about $28.61, roughly a 0.8% intraday increase.
• Analyst sentiment is mildly positive with a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a $29.00 consensus price target (four Buys vs. three Holds), while notable actions include Raymond James upgrading to outperform and Piper Sandler raising its target to $30.00.
• Management is returning capital: the quarterly dividend was increased to $0.23 (annualized $0.92, ~3.2% yield) and the board approved a $30.0 million share repurchase program (about 3.5% of outstanding shares).

HBT Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:HBT - Get Free Report) shares saw unusually-high trading volume on Monday . Approximately 142,267 shares were traded during mid-day trading, an increase of 170% from the previous session's volume of 52,702 shares.The stock last traded at $28.61 and had previously closed at $28.25.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

HBT has been the topic of a number of research reports. Piper Sandler upped their target price on HBT Financial from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, March 13th. Raymond James Financial upgraded HBT Financial from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $30.00 target price on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded HBT Financial from a "buy (a-)" rating to a "buy (b+)" rating in a report on Monday, April 6th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $29.00.

HBT Financial Stock Up 0.8%

The business has a fifty day moving average of $27.51 and a 200 day moving average of $26.03. The stock has a market cap of $1.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.67 and a beta of 0.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.82.

HBT Financial (NASDAQ:HBT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, January 26th. The company reported $0.64 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.64. HBT Financial had a return on equity of 13.50% and a net margin of 26.20%.The firm had revenue of $61.46 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $61.00 million. On average, equities analysts predict that HBT Financial, Inc. will post 2.34 earnings per share for the current year.

HBT Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 17th. Investors of record on Monday, February 9th were issued a $0.23 dividend. This is an increase from HBT Financial's previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 9th. HBT Financial's dividend payout ratio is currently 37.70%.

HBT Financial declared that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Thursday, December 18th that permits the company to repurchase $30.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to buy up to 3.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On HBT Financial

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Rosenthal Henry Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of HBT Financial by 117.8% in the third quarter. Rosenthal Henry Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 92,547 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,332,000 after acquiring an additional 50,047 shares during the period. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management bought a new stake in shares of HBT Financial in the third quarter valued at approximately $484,000. First Trust Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of HBT Financial by 6.0% in the second quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 20,301 shares of the company's stock valued at $512,000 after acquiring an additional 1,155 shares during the period. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd boosted its position in shares of HBT Financial by 184.9% in the third quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 33,553 shares of the company's stock valued at $846,000 after acquiring an additional 21,775 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of HBT Financial by 4.2% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 545,809 shares of the company's stock valued at $14,110,000 after acquiring an additional 22,048 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.55% of the company's stock.

About HBT Financial

HBT Financial, Inc is the bank holding company for HomeTrust Bank, a community-focused financial institution based in Lenoir, North Carolina. Through its subsidiary, HomeTrust Bank, the company provides a full suite of personal and business banking services across western North Carolina, eastern Tennessee and Upstate South Carolina. The company's operations include a network of branch offices, ATMs and online banking platforms designed to serve both urban and rural communities in its primary market areas.

HomeTrust Bank's product offerings encompass traditional deposit accounts such as checking, savings and money market accounts, as well as certificates of deposit.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.