HBT Financial (NASDAQ:HBT) Sees Unusually-High Trading Volume After Dividend Announcement

Shares of HBT Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:HBT) saw unusually-high trading volume on Tuesday after the company announced a dividend. Approximately 59,764 shares traded hands during trading, an increase of 147% from the previous session’s volume of 24,228 shares.The stock last traded at $27.08 and had previously closed at $27.57.

The newly announced dividend which will be paid on Tuesday, February 17th. Investors of record on Monday, February 9th will be issued a $0.23 dividend. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.4%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 9th. This is a positive change from HBT Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. HBT Financial’s dividend payout ratio is 34.43%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have issued reports on HBT. Piper Sandler lowered their target price on shares of HBT Financial from $29.00 to $27.50 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, October 21st. DA Davidson set a $27.00 price objective on shares of HBT Financial in a report on Tuesday, October 21st. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of HBT Financial in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, Raymond James Financial upgraded shares of HBT Financial from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $30.00 target price for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, HBT Financial has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $28.50.

HBT Financial Stock Up 1.6%

The company has a market capitalization of $846.10 million, a PE ratio of 11.03 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.81. The company has a 50-day moving average of $26.06 and a two-hundred day moving average of $25.36.

HBT Financial (NASDAQ:HBT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, January 26th. The company reported $0.64 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.64. HBT Financial had a return on equity of 13.69% 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. Sell-side analysts anticipate that HBT Financial, Inc. will post 2.34 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

HBT Financial announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Thursday, December 18th that permits the company to repurchase $30.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to repurchase up to 3.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in HBT Financial by 162.0% during the second quarter. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. now owns 107,004 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,698,000 after acquiring an additional 66,161 shares during the period. Rosenthal Henry Capital Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of HBT Financial by 117.8% during the third quarter. Rosenthal Henry Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 92,547 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,332,000 after purchasing an additional 50,047 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. raised its stake in HBT Financial by 15.8% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 219,619 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,537,000 after purchasing an additional 29,892 shares during the period. Citadel Advisors LLC bought a new stake in HBT Financial during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $725,000. Finally, Qube Research & Technologies Ltd lifted its holdings in HBT Financial by 184.9% in the 3rd quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 33,553 shares of the company’s stock worth $846,000 after purchasing an additional 21,775 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 78.55% of the company’s stock.

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.