Insider Selling: HBT Financial (NASDAQ:HBT) Chairman Sells 15,742 Shares of Stock

Key Points

• Insider sale: Chairman Fred Drake sold 15,742 shares on April 28 at an average price of $28.93 for $455,416, reducing his stake by 25.57% to 45,815 shares (worth about $1.33M).
• HBT reported a quarterly beat with EPS of $0.68 versus $0.62 expected and revenue of $67.84M versus $66.73M, posting a 22.7% net margin and 13.9% return on equity.
• Dividend and analyst view: The company declared a $0.23 quarterly dividend (annualized $0.92, ~3.3% yield; ex-dividend May 12), and analyst sentiment has been upgraded to an overall "Buy" with a consensus target of $30.20.

HBT Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:HBT - Get Free Report) Chairman Fred Drake sold 15,742 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.93, for a total value of $455,416.06. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman owned 45,815 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,325,427.95. This trade represents a 25.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website.

HBT Financial Stock Down 0.8%

Shares of HBT stock traded down $0.22 on Thursday, hitting $27.76. 103,590 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 56,523. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.73 and a beta of 0.56. HBT Financial, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $22.36 and a fifty-two week high of $29.88. The business has a 50-day moving average of $27.36 and a 200 day moving average of $26.34. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11.

HBT Financial (NASDAQ:HBT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 27th. The company reported $0.68 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.62 by $0.06. HBT Financial had a net margin of 22.72% and a return on equity of 13.87%. The business had revenue of $67.84 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $66.73 million. Equities analysts anticipate that HBT Financial, Inc. will post 2.89 EPS for the current year.

HBT Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 19th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 12th will be paid a dividend of $0.23 per share. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.3%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 12th. HBT Financial's dividend payout ratio is currently 42.20%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently issued reports on HBT shares. DA Davidson upped their target price on HBT Financial from $28.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday. Weiss Ratings upgraded HBT Financial from a "buy (b+)" rating to a "buy (a-)" rating in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on HBT Financial from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Raymond James Financial upgraded HBT Financial from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $30.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. Finally, Zacks Research raised HBT Financial from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, April 20th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $30.20.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On HBT Financial

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in shares of HBT Financial by 4.2% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 545,809 shares of the company's stock valued at $14,110,000 after buying an additional 22,048 shares during the last quarter. LPL Financial LLC raised its stake in HBT Financial by 3.2% in the fourth quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 318,379 shares of the company's stock valued at $8,230,000 after buying an additional 9,874 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in HBT Financial by 6.1% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 288,455 shares of the company's stock valued at $7,458,000 after buying an additional 16,641 shares during the period. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. raised its stake in HBT Financial by 51.1% in the fourth quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. now owns 257,579 shares of the company's stock valued at $6,658,000 after buying an additional 87,085 shares during the period. Finally, Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in HBT Financial by 2.7% in the third quarter. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. now owns 109,891 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,769,000 after buying an additional 2,887 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.55% of the company's stock.

HBT Financial Company Profile

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.