HBT Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:HBT) Shares Sold by Assenagon Asset Management S.A.

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. cut its holdings in shares of HBT Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:HBT) by 46.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 25,215 shares of the company’s stock after selling 21,585 shares during the quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. owned 0.08% of HBT Financial worth $552,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Rosenthal Henry Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of HBT Financial during the third quarter worth $930,000. FMR LLC boosted its stake in HBT Financial by 70.1% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 4,329 shares of the company’s stock worth $95,000 after purchasing an additional 1,784 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of HBT Financial by 6.9% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 406,456 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,298,000 after buying an additional 26,135 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC grew its stake in shares of HBT Financial by 43.5% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 57,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,247,000 after purchasing an additional 17,266 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp increased its stake in HBT Financial by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 251,438 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,501,000 after buying an additional 3,874 shares during the period. 78.55% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at HBT Financial

In related news, Chairman Fred L. Drake sold 4,798 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.92, for a total transaction of $114,768.16. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now owns 86,672 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,073,194.24. This represents a 5.25 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders have sold 14,498 shares of company stock worth $351,985 in the last ninety days. 59.80% of the stock is owned by insiders.

HBT Financial Price Performance

HBT opened at $23.32 on Friday. HBT Financial, Inc. has a 52-week low of $17.75 and a 52-week high of $25.35. The company has a market cap of $735.98 million, a P/E ratio of 10.32 and a beta of 0.88. 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 company has a 50 day moving average of $22.81 and a two-hundred day moving average of $22.36.

HBT Financial (NASDAQ:HBT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 22nd. The company reported $0.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.58 by $0.04. HBT Financial had a net margin of 24.99% and a return on equity of 14.57%. On average, analysts expect that HBT Financial, Inc. will post 2.15 earnings per share for the current year.

HBT Financial declared that its board has initiated a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, December 18th that permits the company to buyback $15.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to purchase up to 2.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

HBT Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 11th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 4th will be paid a dividend of $0.21 per share. This is a boost from HBT Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.19. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.60%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 4th. HBT Financial’s dividend payout ratio is 33.63%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

HBT has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Piper Sandler reduced their price target on HBT Financial from $27.00 to $26.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on HBT Financial from $25.00 to $27.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $24.80.

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.