Tectonic Advisors LLC Purchases 3,592 Shares of Hilltop Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HTH)

Tectonic Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Hilltop Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HTH) by 10.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 39,005 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,592 shares during the period. Tectonic Advisors LLC’s holdings in Hilltop were worth $1,117,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its stake in Hilltop by 3.6% in the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 26,416 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $826,000 after buying an additional 913 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its stake in Hilltop by 101.3% during the 3rd quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 27,846 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $896,000 after acquiring an additional 14,015 shares during the last quarter. Inspire Investing LLC grew its holdings in Hilltop by 12.9% during the third quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 12,786 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $411,000 after purchasing an additional 1,462 shares during the period. Beese Fulmer Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in Hilltop in the third quarter valued at approximately $203,000. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its holdings in Hilltop by 187.9% in the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 511,286 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $16,443,000 after purchasing an additional 333,695 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 57.13% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on HTH. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price target on shares of Hilltop from $35.00 to $34.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Monday. StockNews.com upgraded Hilltop from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Raymond James lowered Hilltop from a “market perform” rating to an “underperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and three have issued a hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Hilltop currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $34.00.

Hilltop Trading Up 4.1 %

HTH opened at $32.27 on Thursday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $29.68 and its 200 day simple moving average is $31.12. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.55 and a beta of 1.14. Hilltop Holdings Inc. has a 12 month low of $26.67 and a 12 month high of $35.32.

Hilltop (NYSE:HTH) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The financial services provider reported $0.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.28 by $0.27. Hilltop had a return on equity of 5.18% and a net margin of 7.04%. On average, equities research analysts predict that Hilltop Holdings Inc. will post 1.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hilltop Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 27th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.18 per share. This is a boost from Hilltop’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.17. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 13th. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.23%. Hilltop’s dividend payout ratio is presently 41.38%.

Insider Activity at Hilltop

In related news, CAO Keith E. Bornemann sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.00, for a total value of $80,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 9,124 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $291,968. This trade represents a 21.51 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 29.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

About Hilltop

Hilltop Holdings Inc provides business and consumer banking services. It operates through three segments: Banking, Broker-Dealer, and Mortgage Origination. The Banking segment offers savings, checking, interest-bearing checking, and money market accounts; certificates of deposit; lines and letters of credit, home improvement and equity loans, loans for purchasing and carrying securities, term, agricultural and commercial real estate, equipment loans, and other lending products; and mortgage, commercial and industrial loans, and term and construction finance.