First Trust Advisors LP Invests $422,000 in HBT Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:HBT)

First Trust Advisors LP acquired a new stake in HBT Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:HBT) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 19,279 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $422,000. First Trust Advisors LP owned 0.06% of HBT Financial as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Picton Mahoney Asset Management increased its stake in shares of HBT Financial by 47.7% in the fourth quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management now owns 1,335 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 431 shares during the period. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS acquired a new stake in HBT Financial during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $57,000. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its holdings in HBT Financial by 13.6% during the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 6,309 shares of the company’s stock worth $138,000 after purchasing an additional 756 shares during the last quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN raised its holdings in HBT Financial by 27.8% during the 4th quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 7,522 shares of the company’s stock worth $165,000 after purchasing an additional 1,638 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sei Investments Co. acquired a new position in shares of HBT Financial in the 4th quarter worth approximately $242,000. 78.55% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at HBT Financial

In other news, Chairman Fred L. Drake sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.15, for a total value of $251,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now owns 22,825 shares in the company, valued at $574,048.75. This represents a 30.46 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 59.70% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

HBT has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Hovde Group raised shares of HBT Financial from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $28.00 target price for the company in a research note on Tuesday. Piper Sandler dropped their price objective on HBT Financial from $27.00 to $26.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $25.33.

HBT Financial Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ HBT opened at $23.55 on Friday. 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 price is $22.73 and its 200-day moving average price is $23.15. The firm has a market capitalization of $741.71 million, a P/E ratio of 10.42 and a beta of 0.60. HBT Financial, Inc. has a 1-year low of $18.16 and a 1-year high of $26.25.

HBT Financial (NASDAQ:HBT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 21st. The company reported $0.61 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.57 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $63.14 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $57.57 million. HBT Financial had a return on equity of 14.57% and a net margin of 24.99%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.57 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that HBT Financial, Inc. will post 2.34 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

HBT Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 13th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 6th will be given a dividend of $0.21 per share. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.57%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 6th. HBT Financial’s payout ratio is presently 35.29%.

HBT Financial 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.