Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. Has $460,000 Holdings in HBT Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:HBT)

Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of HBT Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:HBT) by 56.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 20,999 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 7,539 shares during the period. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. owned 0.07% of HBT Financial worth $460,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of HBT. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in HBT Financial by 0.6% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 309,110 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,764,000 after purchasing an additional 1,989 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in HBT Financial by 1.6% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 251,438 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,501,000 after purchasing an additional 3,874 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in HBT Financial by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 105,353 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,307,000 after purchasing an additional 2,210 shares during the last quarter. Heartland Bank & Trust Co boosted its holdings in HBT Financial by 5.8% during the fourth quarter. Heartland Bank & Trust Co now owns 91,770 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,010,000 after purchasing an additional 5,070 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC boosted its stake in HBT Financial by 43.5% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 57,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,247,000 after acquiring an additional 17,266 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.55% of the company’s stock.

HBT Financial Stock Performance

NASDAQ HBT opened at $22.74 on Friday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $23.89 and its 200-day moving average is $23.01. HBT Financial, Inc. has a 12-month low of $18.00 and a 12-month high of $26.25. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. The firm has a market cap of $717.65 million, a P/E ratio of 10.06 and a beta of 0.81.

HBT Financial (NASDAQ:HBT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The company reported $0.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.58 by $0.04. HBT Financial had a net margin of 24.99% and a return on equity of 14.57%. Sell-side analysts predict that HBT Financial, Inc. will post 2.34 earnings per share for the current year.

HBT Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 11th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 4th were given a $0.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 4th. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.69%. This is a positive change from HBT Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.19. HBT Financial’s payout ratio is 37.17%.

HBT Financial announced that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Wednesday, December 18th that permits the company to buyback $15.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to reacquire up to 2.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have weighed in on HBT. Piper Sandler dropped their target price on shares of HBT Financial from $27.00 to $26.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on shares of HBT Financial from $25.00 to $27.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $24.80.

Insider Activity

In related news, Chairman Fred L. Drake sold 5,055 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.81, for a total transaction of $125,414.55. Following the sale, the chairman now owns 53,615 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,330,188.15. This represents a 8.62 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Patrick F. Busch sold 8,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.77, for a total transaction of $198,160.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 182,000 shares in the company, valued at $4,508,140. This trade represents a 4.21 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 38,900 shares of company stock valued at $969,500 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 59.80% of the company’s stock.

About HBT Financial

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.