HBT Financial (NASDAQ:HBT) Trading Up 1.8%

HBT Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:HBT - Get Free Report) shares traded up 1.8% on Friday . The stock traded as high as $18.82 and last traded at $18.74. 34,647 shares changed hands during trading, an increase of 27% from the average session volume of 27,212 shares. The stock had previously closed at $18.41.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of HBT Financial from $21.50 to $21.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 4th.

HBT Financial Stock Up 1.1 %

The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $19.05 and its 200 day simple moving average is $19.30. The company has a market cap of $588.50 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.94 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21.

HBT Financial (NASDAQ:HBT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 24th. The company reported $0.60 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.60. HBT Financial had a net margin of 24.84% and a return on equity of 16.93%. The company had revenue of $70.62 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $57.78 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.62 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that HBT Financial, Inc. will post 2.21 EPS for the current fiscal year.

HBT Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 13th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 6th were paid a $0.19 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 5th. This represents a $0.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.09%. This is a positive change from HBT Financial's previous quarterly dividend of $0.17. HBT Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.54%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Roger A. Baker acquired 3,632 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $18.86 per share, for a total transaction of $68,499.52. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 559,804 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $10,557,903.44. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In related news, Director Roger A. Baker acquired 1,888 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 7th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $18.68 per share, for a total transaction of $35,267.84. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 555,980 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $10,385,706.40. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Roger A. Baker acquired 3,632 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was bought at an average price of $18.86 per share, with a total value of $68,499.52. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 559,804 shares of the company's stock, valued at $10,557,903.44. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders purchased 5,820 shares of company stock worth $109,417 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 58.60% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of HBT Financial

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Royal Bank of Canada boosted its holdings in HBT Financial by 3.6% during the fourth quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 17,656 shares of the company's stock worth $373,000 after buying an additional 611 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in HBT Financial by 0.6% during the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 115,774 shares of the company's stock worth $2,112,000 after buying an additional 712 shares in the last quarter. UBS Group AG boosted its holdings in HBT Financial by 20.5% during the first quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 4,733 shares of the company's stock worth $93,000 after buying an additional 805 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in HBT Financial by 3.1% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 27,439 shares of the company's stock worth $537,000 after buying an additional 818 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC boosted its holdings in HBT Financial by 70.3% during the fourth quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 2,573 shares of the company's stock worth $54,000 after buying an additional 1,062 shares in the last quarter. 78.55% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.