HBT Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:HBT) Stake Increased by Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc.

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in HBT Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:HBT) by 2.1% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 105,353 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,210 shares during the quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in HBT Financial were worth $2,307,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Hickory Point Bank & Trust acquired a new stake in HBT Financial during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $438,000. Rhumbline Advisers grew its holdings in shares of HBT Financial by 9.0% in the 4th quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 20,758 shares of the company’s stock valued at $455,000 after buying an additional 1,711 shares during the period. Heartland Bank & Trust Co increased its stake in HBT Financial by 5.8% during the 4th quarter. Heartland Bank & Trust Co now owns 91,770 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,010,000 after purchasing an additional 5,070 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its stake in shares of HBT Financial by 13.6% in the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 6,309 shares of the company’s stock valued at $138,000 after purchasing an additional 756 shares during the period. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in shares of HBT Financial by 62.0% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 23,427 shares of the company’s stock worth $513,000 after purchasing an additional 8,969 shares in the last quarter. 78.55% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Patrick F. Busch sold 8,000 shares of HBT Financial stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.77, for a total transaction of $198,160.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 182,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,508,140. The trade was a 4.21 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Fred L. Drake sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.38, for a total value of $243,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 58,670 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,430,374.60. This represents a 14.56 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 38,900 shares of company stock valued at $969,500 over the last quarter. 59.80% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

HBT has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Piper Sandler lowered their price objective on shares of HBT Financial from $27.00 to $26.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Hovde Group started coverage on HBT Financial in a research note on Thursday. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $24.50 price target on the stock. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on HBT Financial from $25.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $24.75.

HBT Financial Trading Down 1.8 %

NASDAQ:HBT opened at $22.51 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $710.39 million, a PE ratio of 9.96 and a beta of 0.81. HBT Financial, Inc. has a 12 month low of $18.00 and a 12 month high of $26.25. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $23.97 and its 200 day moving average is $23.04.

HBT Financial (NASDAQ:HBT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The company reported $0.62 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.58 by $0.04. HBT Financial had a return on equity of 14.57% and a net margin of 24.99%. Sell-side analysts expect that HBT Financial, Inc. will post 2.34 earnings per share for the current year.

HBT Financial announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback program on Wednesday, December 18th that allows the company to repurchase $15.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to buy up to 2.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

HBT Financial Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 11th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 4th were given a $0.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 4th. This is a positive change from HBT Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.19. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.73%. HBT Financial’s payout ratio is 37.17%.

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.