Short Interest in HBT Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:HBT) Rises By 121.6%

HBT Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:HBT) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest in the month of June. As of June 30th, there was short interest totaling 539,273 shares, an increase of 121.6% from the June 15th total of 243,367 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 340,177 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.6 days. Currently, 3.1% of the shares of the company are sold short.

HBT Financial Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:HBT traded up $1.16 during trading on Thursday, hitting $33.39. 233,015 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 95,317. The company has a market capitalization of $1.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.32 and a beta of 0.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.85. HBT Financial has a 1-year low of $22.36 and a 1-year high of $33.70. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $29.87 and its 200-day simple moving average is $28.27.

HBT Financial (NASDAQ:HBT) last issued its earnings results on Monday, April 27th. The company reported $0.68 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.62 by $0.06. HBT Financial had a return on equity of 13.06% and a net margin of 22.72%.The business had revenue of $67.84 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $66.75 million. Sell-side analysts expect that HBT Financial will post 2.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

HBT Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 19th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 12th were issued a dividend of $0.23 per share. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 12th. HBT Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 42.20%.

Insider Transactions at HBT Financial

In other HBT Financial news, Chairman Fred L. Drake sold 15,742 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.93, for a total value of $455,416.06. Following the sale, the chairman owned 45,815 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,325,427.95. This trade represents a 25.57% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 51.90% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of HBT Financial

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in HBT Financial by 2.8% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 561,159 shares of the company’s stock worth $14,995,000 after purchasing an additional 15,350 shares during the period. LPL Financial LLC grew its stake in shares of HBT Financial by 3.2% in the 4th quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 318,379 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,230,000 after purchasing an additional 9,874 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of HBT Financial by 6.1% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 288,455 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,458,000 after purchasing an additional 16,641 shares during the period. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. raised its holdings in shares of HBT Financial by 51.1% in the 4th quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. now owns 257,579 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,658,000 after buying an additional 87,085 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Heartland Bank & Trust Co raised its holdings in shares of HBT Financial by 857.6% in the 1st quarter. Heartland Bank & Trust Co now owns 160,487 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,288,000 after buying an additional 143,727 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 78.55% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

HBT has been the topic of several research analyst reports. DA Davidson raised their price objective on shares of HBT Financial from $28.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 28th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of HBT Financial from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 19th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of HBT Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Sunday. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of HBT Financial from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Piper Sandler upped their price objective on shares of HBT Financial from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, June 26th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $31.25.

About HBT Financial

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.