Insider Selling: Hilltop (NYSE:HTH) CEO Sells 26,000 Shares of Stock

Hilltop Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HTH) CEO Martin Bradley Winges sold 26,000 shares of Hilltop stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.46, for a total value of $999,960.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 65,831 shares in the company, valued at $2,531,860.26. This represents a 28.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink.

Hilltop Stock Up 1.5%

Shares of Hilltop stock traded up $0.58 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $39.19. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 538,273 shares, compared to its average volume of 349,047. The company has a market capitalization of $2.40 billion, a PE ratio of 14.79 and a beta of 0.94. The business has a fifty day moving average of $35.18 and a 200 day moving average of $33.73. Hilltop Holdings Inc. has a 1-year low of $27.35 and a 1-year high of $39.78.

Hilltop (NYSE:HTH) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $0.69 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.46 by $0.23. The company had revenue of $217.40 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $300.15 million. Hilltop had a return on equity of 7.47% and a net margin of 10.19%.During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.55 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Hilltop Holdings Inc. will post 1.51 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hilltop Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 13th will be given a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 13th. This is an increase from Hilltop’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.18. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.0%. Hilltop’s dividend payout ratio is presently 30.19%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

HTH has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Zacks Research raised shares of Hilltop from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 16th. Stephens increased their target price on Hilltop from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 27th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on shares of Hilltop from $34.00 to $39.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Hilltop in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. One equities 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’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $37.50.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Hilltop

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in HTH. Hantz Financial Services Inc. acquired a new position in Hilltop during the 2nd quarter worth $27,000. Strategic Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Hilltop in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Hilltop by 584.7% during the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,075 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 918 shares during the period. Danske Bank A S bought a new stake in Hilltop during the third quarter worth approximately $43,000. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Hilltop by 42.7% during the third quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,334 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $45,000 after purchasing an additional 399 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 57.13% of the company’s stock.

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.