HBT Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:HBT) Sees Significant Growth in Short Interest

HBT Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:HBT) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest in the month of July. As of July 15th, there was short interest totalling 89,700 shares, a growth of 13.8% from the June 30th total of 78,800 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 25,300 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.5 days. Currently, 0.7% of the company’s shares are sold short.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Patrick F. Busch sold 11,555 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.09, for a total value of $278,359.95. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 190,000 shares in the company, valued at $4,577,100. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, Director Patrick F. Busch sold 11,555 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.09, for a total transaction of $278,359.95. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 190,000 shares in the company, valued at $4,577,100. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Eric E. Burwell bought 6,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 11th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $18.99 per share, for a total transaction of $113,940.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 31,820 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $604,261.80. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 59.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC boosted its stake in shares of HBT Financial by 70.3% in the 4th quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 2,573 shares of the company’s stock valued at $54,000 after purchasing an additional 1,062 shares during the last quarter. LSV Asset Management bought a new stake in HBT Financial during the first quarter valued at $183,000. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its holdings in HBT Financial by 36.6% during the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 9,029 shares of the company’s stock worth $191,000 after acquiring an additional 2,418 shares during the period. Meredith Wealth Planning acquired a new stake in HBT Financial during the 4th quarter worth about $203,000. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. bought a new position in shares of HBT Financial in the 4th quarter worth about $1,010,000. 78.55% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

HBT Financial Price Performance

NASDAQ HBT traded down $0.83 during trading on Monday, hitting $23.41. 16,493 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 26,869. The company has a market cap of $739.55 million, a PE ratio of 10.60 and a beta of 0.87. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. HBT Financial has a fifty-two week low of $17.42 and a fifty-two week high of $24.85. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $20.29 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $19.57.

HBT Financial (NASDAQ:HBT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 22nd. The company reported $0.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.56 by $0.01. HBT Financial had a net margin of 25.61% and a return on equity of 15.76%. The company had revenue of $72.43 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $56.82 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.58 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that HBT Financial will post 2.3 EPS for the current year.

HBT Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, August 13th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 6th will be paid a $0.19 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 6th. This represents a $0.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.25%. HBT Financial’s dividend payout ratio is 33.63%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently weighed in on HBT. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on HBT Financial from $21.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Piper Sandler upped their price target on HBT Financial from $21.50 to $25.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Raymond James upgraded shares of HBT Financial from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $23.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Friday, May 10th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated an “outperform” rating and set a $27.00 target price (up previously from $25.00) on shares of HBT Financial in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd.

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.