GAMMA Investing LLC Grows Stock Holdings in HBT Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:HBT)

GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in shares of HBT Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:HBT) by 4,457.6% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,689 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 2,630 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC’s holdings in HBT Financial were worth $600,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Picton Mahoney Asset Management boosted its position in shares of HBT Financial by 47.7% during the fourth quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management now owns 1,335 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 431 shares during the period. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS purchased a new position in shares of HBT Financial during the fourth quarter worth $57,000. Wells Fargo & Company MN raised its stake in shares of HBT Financial by 27.8% in the fourth quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 7,522 shares of the company’s stock valued at $165,000 after acquiring an additional 1,638 shares in the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. acquired a new stake in shares of HBT Financial in the fourth quarter valued at $242,000. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE raised its stake in shares of HBT Financial by 35.0% in the fourth quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 15,615 shares of the company’s stock valued at $342,000 after acquiring an additional 4,048 shares in the last quarter. 78.55% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

HBT Financial Stock Up 0.8%

Shares of NASDAQ HBT opened at $23.61 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $743.72 million, a P/E ratio of 9.92 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a current ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18. HBT Financial, Inc. has a 12-month low of $18.62 and a 12-month high of $26.25. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $23.45 and its 200-day simple moving average is $23.28.

HBT Financial (NASDAQ:HBT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 21st. The company reported $0.61 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.57 by $0.04. HBT Financial had a return on equity of 14.13% and a net margin of 25.88%. The company had revenue of $63.14 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $57.57 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.57 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that HBT Financial, Inc. will post 2.34 EPS for the current fiscal year.

HBT Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 13th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 6th were given a dividend of $0.21 per share. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.56%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 6th. HBT Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 35.29%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Hovde Group upgraded HBT Financial from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $28.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $25.80.

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.