HBT Financial (NASDAQ:HBT) Trading Up 16.2% - Here's What Happened

HBT Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:HBT - Get Free Report) shares shot up 16.2% during trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $26.60 and last traded at $30.28. 14,416 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 57% from the average session volume of 33,449 shares. The stock had previously closed at $26.05.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Hovde Group upgraded shares of HBT Financial from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $28.00 target price for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $25.80.

HBT Financial Price Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $953.67 million, a PE ratio of 12.72 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a current ratio of 0.83. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $24.26 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $23.46.

HBT Financial (NASDAQ:HBT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 21st. The company reported $0.61 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.57 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $63.14 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $57.57 million. HBT Financial had a net margin of 25.88% and a return on equity of 14.13%. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.57 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that HBT Financial, Inc. will post 2.34 earnings per share for the current year.

HBT Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 13th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 6th were paid a $0.21 dividend. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.77%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 6th. HBT Financial's payout ratio is presently 35.29%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On HBT Financial

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of HBT Financial by 6.8% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 461,630 shares of the company's stock worth $10,110,000 after acquiring an additional 29,200 shares in the last quarter. Royce & Associates LP raised its position in shares of HBT Financial by 8.2% in the first quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 359,922 shares of the company's stock valued at $8,066,000 after purchasing an additional 27,169 shares during the period. LPL Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of HBT Financial in the fourth quarter worth $7,111,000. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. boosted its holdings in shares of HBT Financial by 12.3% during the 1st quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. now owns 278,159 shares of the company's stock worth $6,234,000 after buying an additional 30,467 shares during the period. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 56,521 shares during the period. 78.55% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.