HBT Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:HBT) Short Interest Up 16.2% in November

HBT Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:HBT) saw a significant increase in short interest in the month of November. As of November 15th, there was short interest totalling 73,700 shares, an increase of 16.2% from the October 31st total of 63,400 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 29,800 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.5 days. Currently, 0.6% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

HBT Financial Trading Down 1.1 %

NASDAQ HBT traded down $0.27 on Tuesday, reaching $23.76. The company had a trading volume of 1,859 shares, compared to its average volume of 28,674. HBT Financial has a 52 week low of $17.75 and a 52 week high of $25.35. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $22.63 and its 200-day moving average is $21.54. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. The stock has a market cap of $749.87 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.92 and a beta of 0.87.

HBT Financial (NASDAQ:HBT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, October 21st. The company reported $0.61 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.58 by $0.03. HBT Financial had a return on equity of 14.70% and a net margin of 24.68%. The company had revenue of $56.44 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $57.05 million. Equities analysts predict that HBT Financial will post 2.33 earnings per share for the current year.

HBT Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, November 12th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 4th were issued a $0.19 dividend. This represents a $0.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.20%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 4th. HBT Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 34.55%.

Insider Buying and Selling at HBT Financial

In other HBT Financial news, Chairman Fred L. Drake sold 4,798 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.92, for a total transaction of $114,768.16. Following the sale, the chairman now owns 86,672 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,073,194.24. This represents a 5.25 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Over the last three months, insiders sold 11,998 shares of company stock valued at $291,710. 59.80% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On HBT Financial

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. FMR LLC lifted its position in shares of HBT Financial by 70.1% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 4,329 shares of the company’s stock worth $95,000 after purchasing an additional 1,784 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new stake in HBT Financial during the 3rd quarter worth about $122,000. GSA Capital Partners LLP bought a new stake in HBT Financial during the 3rd quarter worth about $251,000. Hsbc Holdings PLC boosted its stake in shares of HBT Financial by 3.8% during the 2nd quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 14,605 shares of the company’s stock worth $287,000 after buying an additional 541 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. bought a new position in shares of HBT Financial in the 3rd quarter valued at about $295,000. 78.55% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have commented on HBT. DA Davidson lowered HBT Financial from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $26.00 to $24.00 in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Piper Sandler decreased their price target on HBT Financial from $25.00 to $24.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $24.40.

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.