Hilltop (NYSE:HTH) Director Sells 5,000 Shares of Stock

Hilltop Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HTH) Director Rhodes Bobbitt sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.80, for a total transaction of $194,000.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 25,641 shares in the company, valued at approximately $994,870.80. This trade represents a 16.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink.

Hilltop Stock Performance

NYSE:HTH traded down $0.12 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $38.55. The stock had a trading volume of 186,502 shares, compared to its average volume of 229,112. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.28 and a beta of 0.89. Hilltop Holdings Inc. has a twelve month low of $30.78 and a twelve month high of $40.41. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $38.82 and a 200 day simple moving average of $37.80.

Hilltop (NYSE:HTH) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.49 by $0.14. Hilltop had a return on equity of 7.40% and a net margin of 10.17%.The company had revenue of $315.81 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $306.18 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.57 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Hilltop Holdings Inc. will post 2.59 earnings per share for the current year.

Hilltop Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 21st. Investors of record on Friday, August 7th were paid a $0.22 dividend. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.3%. This is a boost from Hilltop’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 7th. Hilltop’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 32.59%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have issued reports on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on Hilltop from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Hilltop from a “strong sell” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Piper Sandler reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $42.00 price target on shares of Hilltop in a research note on Tuesday, July 28th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Hilltop in a report on Wednesday, August 19th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of Hilltop from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has assigned a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Hilltop currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $40.00.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Hilltop

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of HTH. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in Hilltop during the second quarter worth $256,179,000. California State Teachers Retirement System grew its holdings in Hilltop by 3,672.0% in the second quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 2,174,782 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $84,338,000 after purchasing an additional 2,117,126 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its holdings in Hilltop by 0.8% in the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 870,474 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $26,419,000 after purchasing an additional 7,302 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Hilltop by 32.0% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 796,277 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $24,247,000 after buying an additional 192,991 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Millennium Management LLC increased its position in shares of Hilltop by 3.7% in the third quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 762,326 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $25,477,000 after buying an additional 27,203 shares in the last quarter. 57.13% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Hilltop Company Profile

Hilltop Holdings, Inc (NYSE: HTH) is a Dallas, Texas–based financial holding company offering commercial banking, mortgage lending and capital markets services through its three primary subsidiaries: PlainsCapital Corporation, PrimeLending and HilltopSecurities. PlainsCapital provides deposit, lending and treasury management solutions to small and mid-sized businesses, professionals and individuals. PrimeLending specializes in home purchase and refinance loans, serving retail, wholesale and correspondent channels.