Hilltop (NYSE:HTH) Director Rhodes Bobbitt Sells 20,000 Shares

Hilltop Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HTH) Director Rhodes Bobbitt sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.12, for a total transaction of $802,400.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 56,096 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,250,571.52. This trade represents a 26.28% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website.

Hilltop Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:HTH traded down $0.18 on Wednesday, reaching $39.82. 242,060 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 257,644. The company’s 50 day moving average is $38.41 and its 200-day moving average is $37.58. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.28 billion, a PE ratio of 14.75 and a beta of 0.89. Hilltop Holdings Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $30.25 and a fifty-two week high of $40.41.

Hilltop (NYSE:HTH) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.63 earnings per share 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 the consensus estimate of $306.18 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.57 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Hilltop Holdings Inc. will post 2.51 EPS for the current year.

Hilltop Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 7th will be paid a dividend of $0.22 per share. This is a boost from Hilltop’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 7th. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.2%. Hilltop’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 29.63%.

Institutional Trading of Hilltop

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Strategic Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Hilltop in the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Hilltop by 584.7% in 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. Allworth Financial LP boosted its position in shares of Hilltop by 37.3% in the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,153 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 313 shares during the period. Danske Bank A S acquired a new stake in shares of Hilltop in the third quarter worth $43,000. Finally, Signaturefd LLC grew its stake in shares of Hilltop by 276.4% in the second quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,370 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $53,000 after acquiring an additional 1,006 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 57.13% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on HTH. Piper Sandler reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $42.00 price target on shares of Hilltop in a report on Tuesday, July 28th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Hilltop from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 16th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on shares of Hilltop from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Hilltop from a “strong sell” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Hilltop from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Friday, May 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has issued a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price 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.