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

HBT Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:HBT) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest in June. As of June 30th, there was short interest totaling 539,273 shares, an increase of 121.6% from the June 15th total of 243,367 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 340,177 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.6 days. Currently, 3.1% of the company’s stock are sold short.

HBT Financial Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:HBT traded up $0.43 on Wednesday, reaching $32.20. 11,095 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 93,632. The business’s 50-day moving average is $29.79 and its two-hundred day moving average is $28.22. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. HBT Financial has a fifty-two week low of $22.36 and a fifty-two week high of $33.10. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.81 and a beta of 0.51.

HBT Financial (NASDAQ:HBT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 27th. The company reported $0.68 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.62 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $67.84 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $66.75 million. HBT Financial had a net margin of 22.72% and a return on equity of 13.06%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that HBT Financial will post 2.95 EPS for the current year.

HBT Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 19th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 12th were paid a $0.23 dividend. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 12th. HBT Financial’s payout ratio is presently 42.20%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

HBT has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Piper Sandler raised their price target on shares of HBT Financial from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, June 26th. DA Davidson increased their price objective on shares of HBT Financial from $28.00 to $31.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 28th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of HBT Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Sunday. Zacks Research downgraded shares of HBT Financial from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 19th. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut shares of HBT Financial from a “buy (a-)” rating to a “buy (b+)” rating in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $31.25.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other HBT Financial news, Chairman Fred L. Drake sold 15,742 shares of HBT Financial stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.93, for a total transaction of $455,416.06. Following the sale, the chairman directly owned 45,815 shares in the company, valued at $1,325,427.95. The trade was a 25.57% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 51.90% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of HBT Financial

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its position in HBT Financial by 17.4% during the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 15,554 shares of the company’s stock valued at $349,000 after purchasing an additional 2,307 shares during the period. Jane Street Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of HBT Financial during the first quarter valued at $286,000. Franklin Resources Inc. acquired a new position in shares of HBT Financial during the second quarter valued at $208,000. First Trust Advisors LP grew its position in shares of HBT Financial by 6.0% during the second quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 20,301 shares of the company’s stock worth $512,000 after acquiring an additional 1,155 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Qube Research & Technologies Ltd bought a new position in shares of HBT Financial during the second quarter worth about $297,000. 78.55% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.