Empowered Funds LLC Buys 9,672 Shares of Hilltop Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HTH)

Empowered Funds LLC boosted its position in Hilltop Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HTH) by 5.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 199,528 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 9,672 shares during the quarter. Empowered Funds LLC owned 0.31% of Hilltop worth $5,712,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Quest Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Hilltop by 61.4% in the 3rd quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 48,393 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,556,000 after purchasing an additional 18,415 shares in the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC boosted its stake in Hilltop by 53.1% in the third quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 70,905 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,280,000 after buying an additional 24,591 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its stake in Hilltop by 4.4% in 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 raised its stake in shares of 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Versor Investments LP lifted its holdings in shares of Hilltop by 171.4% in the 3rd quarter. Versor Investments LP now owns 34,200 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,100,000 after acquiring an additional 21,600 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.13% of the company’s stock.

Hilltop Stock Up 1.6 %

Shares of NYSE HTH opened at $32.48 on Wednesday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $29.74 and its 200 day moving average is $31.04. Hilltop Holdings Inc. has a 52 week low of $26.67 and a 52 week high of $35.32. The company has a market cap of $2.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.67 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 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.28 by $0.27. Hilltop had a net margin of 7.04% and a return on equity of 5.18%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Hilltop Holdings Inc. will post 1.51 earnings per share for the current year.

Hilltop Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 27th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 13th will be issued a $0.18 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 13th. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.22%. This is a boost from Hilltop’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.17. Hilltop’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 39.08%.

Insider Transactions 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 stock was sold at an average price of $32.00, for a total value of $80,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 9,124 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $291,968. This trade represents a 21.51 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 29.30% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently commented on HTH. Raymond James lowered shares of Hilltop from a “market perform” rating to an “underperform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price objective on Hilltop from $35.00 to $34.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. One equities 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.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $34.00.

Hilltop Company Profile

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.