Anyone interested in HBT Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:HBT) should probably be aware that the Director, Patrick Busch, recently divested US$278k worth of shares in the company, at an average price of US$24.09 each. However, the silver lining is that the sale only reduced their total holding by 4.6%, so we're hesitant to read anything much into it, on its own.

HBT Financial Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

Notably, that recent sale by Patrick Busch is the biggest insider sale of HBT Financial shares that we've seen in the last year. That means that an insider was selling shares at below the current price (US$24.24). We generally consider it a negative if insiders have been selling, especially if they did so below the current price, because it implies that they considered a lower price to be reasonable. However, while insider selling is sometimes discouraging, it's only a weak signal. We note that the biggest single sale was only 4.6% of Patrick Busch's holding.

In the last twelve months insiders purchased 22.45k shares for US$420k. On the other hand they divested 11.56k shares, for US$278k. In total, HBT Financial insiders bought more than they sold over the last year. You can see the insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last year depicted in the chart below. If you want to know exactly who sold, for how much, and when, simply click on the graph below!

HBT Financial is not the only stock insiders are buying. So take a peek at this free list of under-the-radar companies with insider buying.

Insider Ownership Of HBT Financial

Another way to test the alignment between the leaders of a company and other shareholders is to look at how many shares they own. A high insider ownership often makes company leadership more mindful of shareholder interests. It's great to see that HBT Financial insiders own 60% of the company, worth about US$459m. Most shareholders would be happy to see this sort of insider ownership, since it suggests that management incentives are well aligned with other shareholders.

What Might The Insider Transactions At HBT Financial Tell Us?

Unfortunately, there has been more insider selling of HBT Financial stock, than buying, in the last three months. In contrast, they appear keener if you look at the last twelve months. And insider ownership remains quite considerable. So the recent selling doesn't worry us. So while it's helpful to know what insiders are doing in terms of buying or selling, it's also helpful to know the risks that a particular company is facing. Be aware that HBT Financial is showing 3 warning signs in our investment analysis, and 1 of those is a bit concerning...

Of course HBT Financial may not be the best stock to buy. So you may wish to see this free collection of high quality companies.

For the purposes of this article, insiders are those individuals who report their transactions to the relevant regulatory body. We currently account for open market transactions and private dispositions of direct interests only, but not derivative transactions or indirect interests.

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This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.

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