Edge Capital Group LLC Takes Position in Hilltop Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HTH)

Edge Capital Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Hilltop Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HTH) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 11,711 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $335,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. State Street Corp grew its holdings in shares of Hilltop by 4.4% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,568,227 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $82,594,000 after buying an additional 107,348 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Hilltop by 1.7% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,056,739 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $33,991,000 after acquiring an additional 17,477 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in Hilltop by 2.6% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 794,060 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $25,537,000 after acquiring an additional 19,936 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its stake in Hilltop by 90.5% during the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 592,138 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $19,043,000 after acquiring an additional 281,230 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hodges Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in Hilltop by 20.7% in the 4th quarter. Hodges Capital Management Inc. now owns 522,503 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $14,959,000 after acquiring an additional 89,724 shares during the last quarter. 57.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Hilltop Price Performance

Shares of HTH stock opened at $31.01 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $29.69 and its two-hundred day moving average is $31.03. Hilltop Holdings Inc. has a 12 month low of $26.67 and a 12 month high of $35.32. The company has a market capitalization of $2.01 billion, a PE ratio of 17.82 and a beta of 1.14.

Hilltop (NYSE:HTH) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The financial services provider reported $0.55 EPS for the quarter, beating 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%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Hilltop Holdings Inc. will post 1.51 EPS for the current year.

Hilltop Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 27th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 13th will be paid a $0.18 dividend. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.32%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 13th. This is a positive change from Hilltop’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.17. Hilltop’s dividend payout ratio is 41.38%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on HTH. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their target price on Hilltop from $35.00 to $34.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Raymond James lowered Hilltop from a “market perform” rating to an “underperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and three have assigned a hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Hilltop has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $34.00.

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.