Hilltop (NYSE:HTH) Director Sells $194,000.00 in Stock

Hilltop Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HTH) Director Rhodes Bobbitt sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.80, for a total transaction of $194,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 30,641 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,188,870.80. The trade was a 14.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link.

Hilltop Stock Performance

Hilltop stock opened at $38.51 on Friday. Hilltop Holdings Inc. has a 52 week low of $30.78 and a 52 week high of $40.41. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.26 and a beta of 0.89. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $38.87 and a 200 day simple moving average of $37.79.

Hilltop (NYSE:HTH) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.63 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.49 by $0.14. Hilltop had a return on equity of 7.40% and a net margin of 10.17%.The firm had revenue of $315.81 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $306.18 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.57 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Hilltop Holdings Inc. will post 2.59 earnings per share for the current year.

Hilltop Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 21st. Investors of record on Friday, August 7th were issued a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 7th. This is a boost from Hilltop’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. Hilltop’s payout ratio is presently 32.59%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Hilltop

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Strategic Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Hilltop during the fourth quarter worth about $33,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Hilltop by 584.7% in the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,075 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 918 shares during the period. Allworth Financial LP grew its position in shares of Hilltop by 37.3% during the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,153 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 313 shares in the last quarter. Danske Bank A S bought a new position in shares of Hilltop during the third quarter worth approximately $43,000. Finally, Signaturefd LLC increased its holdings in shares of Hilltop by 276.4% during the second quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,370 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $53,000 after purchasing an additional 1,006 shares during the period. 57.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have commented on HTH shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on shares of Hilltop from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Hilltop from a “strong sell” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Hilltop from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, May 16th. Piper Sandler reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $42.00 price target on shares of Hilltop in a research note on Tuesday, July 28th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Hilltop in a report on Wednesday, August 19th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has assigned a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently 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.