HBT Financial (NASDAQ:HBT) Sees Strong Trading Volume – Should You Buy?

Shares of HBT Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:HBT) saw strong trading volume on Tuesday . 15,194 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 47% from the previous session’s volume of 28,531 shares.The stock last traded at $23.84 and had previously closed at $24.10.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. DA Davidson cut HBT Financial from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $26.00 to $24.00 in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Piper Sandler decreased their target price on HBT Financial from $25.00 to $24.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $24.40.

HBT Financial Stock Down 1.0 %

The stock has a market capitalization of $745.45 million, a PE ratio of 10.74 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $22.42 and a 200-day moving average price of $21.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.82.

HBT Financial (NASDAQ:HBT) last released its earnings results on Monday, October 21st. The company reported $0.61 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 the consensus estimate of $57.05 million. As a group, analysts forecast that HBT Financial, Inc. will post 2.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

HBT Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, November 12th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 4th were issued a $0.19 dividend. This represents a $0.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.22%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 4th. HBT Financial’s dividend payout ratio is 34.55%.

Institutional Trading of HBT Financial

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in shares of HBT Financial by 70.1% in 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. SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in shares of HBT Financial in the 3rd quarter worth $122,000. GSA Capital Partners LLP bought a new position in shares of HBT Financial in the 3rd quarter worth $251,000. Hsbc Holdings PLC raised its position in shares of HBT Financial by 3.8% in the 2nd quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 14,605 shares of the company’s stock worth $287,000 after acquiring an additional 541 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. bought a new position in shares of HBT Financial in the 3rd quarter worth $295,000. Institutional investors own 78.55% 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.