LSV Asset Management Buys 104,184 Shares of HBT Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:HBT)

LSV Asset Management lifted its stake in HBT Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:HBT) by 1,082.5% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 113,808 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 104,184 shares during the period. LSV Asset Management owned 0.36% of HBT Financial worth $2,324,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Acadian Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in HBT Financial by 19.0% in the 2nd quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 95,606 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,949,000 after buying an additional 15,242 shares during the last quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in HBT Financial in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $6,497,000. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in HBT Financial by 0.8% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 626,575 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,930,000 after buying an additional 5,183 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.55% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on HBT Financial from $21.00 to $24.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Piper Sandler raised their target price on HBT Financial from $21.50 to $25.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $27.00 price objective (up previously from $25.00) on shares of HBT Financial in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd.

Insider Activity at HBT Financial

In related news, Director Patrick F. Busch sold 11,555 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.09, for a total value of $278,359.95. Following the sale, the director now owns 190,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,577,100. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 59.80% of the stock is owned by insiders.

HBT Financial Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:HBT opened at $21.67 on Friday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $21.89 and its 200-day moving average is $20.07. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. The firm has a market capitalization of $684.58 million, a PE ratio of 9.59 and a beta of 0.86. HBT Financial, Inc. has a 1-year low of $17.42 and a 1-year high of $24.85.

HBT Financial (NASDAQ:HBT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 22nd. The company reported $0.57 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.56 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $72.43 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $56.82 million. HBT Financial had a return on equity of 15.53% and a net margin of 25.61%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.58 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that HBT Financial, Inc. will post 2.3 earnings per share for the current year.

HBT Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 13th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 6th were paid a $0.19 dividend. This represents a $0.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.51%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 6th. HBT Financial’s dividend payout ratio is 33.63%.

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.