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

Hilltop Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HTH) Director Rhodes Bobbitt sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.80, for a total value of $194,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 30,641 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,188,870.80. This trade represents a 14.03% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website.

Hilltop Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:HTH opened at $38.55 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $2.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.28 and a beta of 0.89. The company’s 50-day moving average is $38.82 and its 200 day moving average is $37.80. Hilltop Holdings Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $30.78 and a fifty-two week high of $40.41.

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

Hilltop Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 7th were issued a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 7th. This is a positive change from Hilltop’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. Hilltop’s payout ratio is presently 32.59%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Hilltop

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Royal Bank of Canada grew its holdings in shares of Hilltop by 41.9% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 10,818 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $330,000 after purchasing an additional 3,192 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Hilltop by 623.7% in the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 79,654 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,425,000 after buying an additional 68,648 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its position in shares of Hilltop by 5.1% during the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 27,846 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $848,000 after buying an additional 1,362 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC raised its position in shares of Hilltop by 236.4% during the 1st quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 461,206 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $14,044,000 after buying an additional 324,108 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Hilltop by 32.0% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 796,277 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $24,247,000 after acquiring an additional 192,991 shares during the last quarter. 57.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on HTH shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on Hilltop from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Hilltop in a research note on Wednesday, August 19th. Piper Sandler reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $42.00 price target on shares of Hilltop in a research report on Tuesday, July 28th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Hilltop from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, May 16th. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of Hilltop from a “strong sell” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, May 4th. One research 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Hilltop currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $40.00.

About Hilltop

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.