HBT Financial (NASDAQ:HBT) Sees Unusually-High Trading Volume Following Dividend Announcement

HBT Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:HBT) saw unusually-high trading volume on Tuesday following a dividend announcement from the company. 59,764 shares traded hands during trading, an increase of 147% from the previous session’s volume of 24,228 shares.The stock last traded at $27.08 and had previously closed at $27.57.

The newly announced dividend which will be paid on Tuesday, February 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 9th will be paid a $0.23 dividend. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 9th. This is an increase from HBT Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. HBT Financial’s dividend payout ratio is 34.43%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. DA Davidson set a $27.00 target price on shares of HBT Financial in a research report on Tuesday, October 21st. Piper Sandler reduced their price objective on HBT Financial from $29.00 to $27.50 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, October 21st. Raymond James Financial raised HBT Financial from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $30.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of HBT Financial in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $28.50.

HBT Financial Price Performance

The stock has a 50 day moving average of $26.06 and a 200-day moving average of $25.36. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10. The stock has a market capitalization of $846.10 million, a P/E ratio of 11.03 and a beta of 0.58.

HBT Financial (NASDAQ:HBT) last released its earnings results on Monday, January 26th. The company reported $0.64 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.64. HBT Financial had a return on equity of 13.69% and a net margin of 26.20%.The business had revenue of $61.46 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $61.00 million. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that HBT Financial, Inc. will post 2.34 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

HBT Financial announced that its board has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, December 18th that authorizes the company to repurchase $30.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to repurchase up to 3.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Institutional Trading of HBT Financial

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in HBT Financial by 2.5% during the 3rd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 523,761 shares of the company’s stock worth $13,198,000 after purchasing an additional 12,846 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. raised its holdings in shares of HBT Financial by 15.8% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 219,619 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,537,000 after acquiring an additional 29,892 shares in the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of HBT Financial by 1.9% in the second quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 113,115 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,847,000 after acquiring an additional 2,153 shares in the last quarter. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in HBT Financial by 2.7% in the third quarter. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. now owns 109,891 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,769,000 after acquiring an additional 2,887 shares during the period. Finally, Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. grew its holdings in HBT Financial by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 99,527 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,508,000 after acquiring an additional 419 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 78.55% of the company’s stock.

HBT Financial Company Profile

HBT Financial, Inc is the bank holding company for HomeTrust Bank, a community-focused financial institution based in Lenoir, North Carolina. Through its subsidiary, HomeTrust Bank, the company provides a full suite of personal and business banking services across western North Carolina, eastern Tennessee and Upstate South Carolina. The company’s operations include a network of branch offices, ATMs and online banking platforms designed to serve both urban and rural communities in its primary market areas.

HomeTrust Bank’s product offerings encompass traditional deposit accounts such as checking, savings and money market accounts, as well as certificates of deposit.