HBT Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:HBT) Short Interest Update

HBT Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:HBT) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest during 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. Currently, 3.1% of the company’s shares are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 340,177 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.6 days.

HBT Financial Price Performance

HBT stock opened at $33.39 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $29.97 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $28.32. HBT Financial has a 12-month low of $22.36 and a 12-month high of $33.70. The stock 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 current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20.

HBT Financial (NASDAQ:HBT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 27th. The company reported $0.68 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.62 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $67.84 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $66.75 million. HBT Financial had a net margin of 22.72% and a return on equity of 13.06%. As a group, equities analysts predict that HBT Financial will post 2.95 earnings per share for the current year.

HBT Financial Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling at HBT Financial

In other news, Chairman Fred L. Drake sold 15,742 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.93, for a total value of $455,416.06. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman owned 45,815 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,325,427.95. This represents a 25.57% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 51.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On HBT Financial

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. State of Alaska Department of Revenue increased its stake in shares of HBT Financial by 42.4% during the fourth quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 1,809 shares of the company’s stock valued at $45,000 after buying an additional 539 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its stake in HBT Financial by 66.6% in the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 3,892 shares of the company’s stock worth $98,000 after acquiring an additional 1,556 shares during the period. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC boosted its holdings in HBT Financial by 906.9% in the second quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 4,249 shares of the company’s stock valued at $107,000 after acquiring an additional 3,827 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. bought a new stake in HBT Financial in the second quarter valued at $208,000. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp bought a new stake in HBT Financial in the first quarter valued at $241,000. 78.55% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Wall Street Zen raised HBT Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, July 12th. DA Davidson boosted their target price on HBT Financial from $28.00 to $31.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 28th. Weiss Ratings cut HBT Financial from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Wednesday. Zacks Research lowered HBT Financial from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 19th. Finally, Piper Sandler raised their price target on HBT Financial from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, HBT Financial has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $31.25.

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.