Sec Form 4 Filing - Ashworth James T @ HBT Financial, Inc. - 2026-03-01

FORM 4 Check this box if no longer subject to Section 16. Form 4 or Form 5 obligations may continue. See Instruction 1(b).

UNITED STATES SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION Washington, D.C. 20549 STATEMENT OF CHANGES IN BENEFICIAL OWNERSHIP Filed pursuant to Section 16(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, Section 17(a) of the Public Utility Holding Company Act of 1935 or Section 30(h) of the Investment Company Act of 1940

OMB APPROVAL OMB Number: 3235-0287 Expires: November 30, 2011 Estimated average burden hours per response... 0.5

1. Name and Address of Reporting Person Ashworth James T 2. Issuer Name and Ticker or Trading Symbol HBT Financial, Inc. [ HBT] 5. Relationship of Reporting Person(s) to Issuer (Check all applicable) X __ Director _____ 10% Owner _____ Officer (give title below) _____ Other (specify below) (Last) (First) (Middle) C/O HBT FINANCIAL, INC., 401 N. HERSHEY ROAD 3. Date of Earliest Transaction (MM/DD/YY) 03/01/2026 (Street) BLOOMINGTON, IL61704 4. If Amendment, Date Original Filed (MM/DD/YY) 6. Individual or Joint/Group Filing (Check Applicable Line) __ X __ Form filed by One Reporting Person _____ Form filed by More than One Reporting Person (City) (State) (Zip)

Table I - Non-Derivative Securities Acquired, Disposed of, or Beneficially Owned 1.Title of Security (Instr. 3) 2. Transaction Date (MM/DD/YY) 2A. Deemed Execution Date, if any (MM/DD/YY) 3. Transaction Code (Instr. 8) 4. Securities Acquired (A) or Disposed of (D) (Instr. 3, 4 and 5) 5. Amount of Securities Beneficially Owned Following Reported Transaction(s) (Instr. 3 and 4) 6. Ownership Form: Direct (D) or Indirect (I) (Instr. 4) 7. Nature of Indirect Beneficial Ownership (Instr. 4) Code V Amount (A) or (D) Price Common Stock, $0.01 par value 03/01/2026 A( 1 ) 95,443 ( 2 ) A 95,443 D Common Stock, $0.01 par value 03/01/2026 A( 1 ) 33,654 ( 2 ) A 33,654 I By James T. Ashworth Trust dated 01/16/2019 Common Stock, $0.01 par value 03/01/2026 A( 1 ) 159,854 ( 2 ) A 159,854 I By Mary Jane Ashworth Trust dated 01/16/2019

Table II - Derivative Securities Acquired, Disposed of, or Beneficially Owned ( e.g. , puts, calls, warrants, options, convertible securities) 1. Title of Derivative Security (Instr. 3) 2. Conversion or Exercise Price of Derivative Security 3. Transaction Date (MM/DD/YY) 3A. Deemed Execution Date, if any (MM/DD/YY) 4. Transaction Code (Instr. 8) 5. Number of Derivative Securities Acquired (A) or Disposed of (D) (Instr. 3, 4, and 5) 6. Date Exercisable and Expiration Date (MM/DD/YY) 7. Title and Amount of Underlying Securities (Instr. 3 and 4) 8. Price of Derivative Security (Instr. 5) 9. Number of Derivative Securities Beneficially Owned Following Reported Transaction(s) (Instr. 4) 10. Ownership Form of Derivative Security: Direct (D) or Indirect (I) (Instr. 4) 11. Nature of Indirect Beneficial Ownership (Instr. 4) Code V (A) (D) Date Exercisable Expiration Date Title Amount or Number of Shares

Reporting Owners Reporting Owner Name / Address Relationships Director 10% Owner Officer Other Ashworth James T C/O HBT FINANCIAL, INC. 401 N. HERSHEY ROAD BLOOMINGTON, IL61704 X Signatures /s/ Renee K. Fehr, Attorney-in-Fact 03/03/2026 Signature of Reporting Person Date

Explanation of Responses:

( 1 )Acquired pursuant to that certain Agreement and Plan of Merger (the "Merger Agreement") entered into on October 20, 2025, between Issuer and CNB Bank Shares, Inc. ("CNB"). Pursuant to the Merger Agreement, at the effective time of the merger, CNB merged with and into Issuer with Issuer surviving the merger, and each share of common stock, par value $0.01 per share, of CNB outstanding immediately prior to the effective time of the merger, was converted into the right to receive, at the option of the Reporting Persons, the following: (1) (a) 1.0434 shares of common stock, par value $0.01 per share, of HBT Financial, Inc. ("Common Stock") (the "stock consideration"), (b) cash in the amount of $27.73 (the "cash consideration"), or (c) a combination of cash consideration and stock consideration ("mixed consideration"), in each case subject to adjustment and to the election and proration procedures as provided in the Merger Agreement, and (2) cash in lieu of fractional shares. ( 2 )Reflects the estimated number of shares of Common Stock to be issued to the Reporting Persons pursuant to the Merger Agreement. The Reporting Persons will file an amendment to this Form 4 to the extent the actual number of shares of Common Stock issued differs from the numbers reported in column (4).

Reminder: Report on a separate line for each class of securities beneficially owned directly or indirectly.

* If the form is filed by more than one reporting person, see Instruction 4(b)(v).

** Intentional misstatements or omissions of facts constitute Federal Criminal Violations. See 18 U.S.C. 1001 and 15 U.S.C. 78ff(a).

Note: File three copies of this Form, one of which must be manually signed. If space is insufficient, see Instruction 6 for procedure.
Persons who respond to the collection of information contained in this form are not required to respond unless the form displays a currently valid OMB Number.