Geode Capital Management LLC Acquires 1,989 Shares of HBT Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:HBT)

Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of HBT Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:HBT) by 0.6% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 309,110 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,989 shares during the quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC owned about 0.98% of HBT Financial worth $6,764,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. FMR LLC raised its holdings in HBT Financial by 70.1% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 4,329 shares of the company’s stock valued at $95,000 after acquiring an additional 1,784 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new position in shares of HBT Financial in the third quarter valued at $122,000. GSA Capital Partners LLP bought a new position in HBT Financial in the third quarter worth $251,000. Hsbc Holdings PLC boosted its stake in HBT Financial by 3.8% during the second quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 14,605 shares of the company’s stock worth $287,000 after buying an additional 541 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. bought a new stake in HBT Financial in the 3rd quarter valued at $295,000. 78.55% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently weighed in on HBT shares. Piper Sandler decreased their target price on shares of HBT Financial from $25.00 to $24.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. DA Davidson downgraded HBT Financial from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $26.00 to $24.00 in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on HBT Financial from $25.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $24.40.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Chairman Fred L. Drake sold 2,200 shares of HBT Financial stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $23.86, for a total value of $52,492.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now directly owns 91,470 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,182,474.20. This trade represents a 2.35 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders have sold a total of 14,498 shares of company stock worth $351,985 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 59.80% of the company’s stock.

HBT Financial Price Performance

NASDAQ:HBT opened at $21.69 on Friday. 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 $684.54 million, a PE ratio of 9.86 and a beta of 0.87. HBT Financial, Inc. has a 12 month low of $17.75 and a 12 month high of $25.35. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $23.11 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $22.10.

HBT Financial (NASDAQ:HBT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, October 21st. The company reported $0.61 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.58 by $0.03. HBT Financial had a return on equity of 14.70% and a net margin of 24.68%. The business had revenue of $56.44 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $57.05 million. On average, equities analysts anticipate that HBT Financial, Inc. will post 2.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

HBT Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, November 12th. Investors of record on Monday, November 4th were issued a $0.19 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 4th. This represents a $0.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.50%. HBT Financial’s dividend payout ratio is 34.55%.

HBT Financial announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback program on Wednesday, December 18th that permits the company to repurchase $15.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to repurchase up to 2.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

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.