Hilltop (NYSE:HTH) Director Rhodes Bobbitt Sells 10,000 Shares

Hilltop Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HTH) Director Rhodes Bobbitt sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.50, for a total transaction of $395,000.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 45,641 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,802,819.50. This trade represents a 17.97% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink.

Hilltop Stock Down 0.5%

Shares of HTH traded down $0.18 during trading on Monday, reaching $39.42. 189,503 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 244,518. Hilltop Holdings Inc. has a twelve month low of $30.78 and a twelve month high of $40.41. The stock has a market cap of $2.26 billion, a PE ratio of 14.60 and a beta of 0.89. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $38.73 and a 200-day simple moving average of $37.76.

Hilltop (NYSE:HTH) last issued 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 firm had revenue of $315.81 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $306.18 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.57 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Hilltop Holdings Inc. will post 2.59 EPS for the current year.

Hilltop Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 21st. Investors of record on Friday, August 7th will be issued a $0.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 7th. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.2%. This is a boost from Hilltop’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. Hilltop’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 32.59%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Hilltop

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans increased its holdings in shares of Hilltop by 156.7% in the 4th quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 81,675 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,772,000 after acquiring an additional 49,859 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in Hilltop by 39.8% in the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 286,079 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $10,247,000 after purchasing an additional 81,448 shares during the period. Bessemer Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Hilltop by 43.3% in the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 165,263 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $5,920,000 after buying an additional 49,900 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of Hilltop by 53.5% during the first quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 84,304 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,020,000 after buying an additional 29,395 shares during the period. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC raised its stake in Hilltop by 6.2% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 265,731 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $9,518,000 after acquiring an additional 15,503 shares during the last quarter. 57.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently issued reports on HTH shares. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Hilltop from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped 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. Wall Street Zen downgraded Hilltop from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, May 16th. Zacks Research raised Hilltop from a “strong sell” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Finally, Piper Sandler reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $42.00 price objective on shares of Hilltop in a research report on Tuesday, July 28th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has assigned a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus 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.