HBT Financial (NASDAQ:HBT) Sees Strong Trading Volume – Here’s What Happened

HBT Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:HBT) shares saw strong trading volume on Monday . 434,871 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 1,116% from the previous session’s volume of 35,771 shares.The stock last traded at $25.70 and had previously closed at $26.27.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on HBT shares. Raymond James Financial raised HBT Financial from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $30.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of HBT Financial in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, HBT Financial currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $28.50.

HBT Financial Price Performance

The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $27.45 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $25.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 0.82. The firm has a market capitalization of $817.18 million, a PE ratio of 10.66 and a beta of 0.57.

HBT Financial (NASDAQ:HBT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, January 26th. The company reported $0.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.64. HBT Financial had a return on equity of 13.50% and a net margin of 26.20%.The business had revenue of $61.46 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $61.00 million. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that HBT Financial, Inc. will post 2.34 EPS for the current year.

HBT Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 17th. Investors of record on Monday, February 9th were given a $0.23 dividend. This is a boost from HBT Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 9th. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.5%. HBT Financial’s payout ratio is currently 37.70%.

HBT Financial announced that its board has approved a stock buyback program on Thursday, December 18th that authorizes the company to buyback $30.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to reacquire up to 3.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Trexquant Investment LP raised its holdings in HBT Financial by 70.1% during the fourth quarter. Trexquant Investment LP now owns 28,991 shares of the company’s stock worth $749,000 after purchasing an additional 11,943 shares in the last quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. raised its position in HBT Financial by 51.1% in the fourth quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. now owns 257,579 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,658,000 after purchasing an additional 87,085 shares during the period. Barclays PLC lifted its stake in shares of HBT Financial by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 56,317 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,456,000 after purchasing an additional 1,732 shares in the last quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN boosted its position in shares of HBT Financial by 315.1% in the fourth quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 36,449 shares of the company’s stock worth $942,000 after buying an additional 27,669 shares during the period. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC grew its stake in shares of HBT Financial by 20.7% in the fourth quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 49,600 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,282,000 after buying an additional 8,500 shares in the last quarter. 78.55% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About HBT Financial

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.