Insider Buying: Hilltop (NYSE:HTH) Chairman Acquires $319,700.00 in Stock

Hilltop Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HTH) Chairman Jonathan Sobel purchased 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 18th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $31.97 per share, for a total transaction of $319,700.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chairman owned 57,429 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,836,005.13. This trade represents a 21.08% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Hilltop Stock Performance

Shares of HTH opened at $33.0020 on Thursday. Hilltop Holdings Inc. has a 52-week low of $26.67 and a 52-week high of $34.68. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $30.76 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $30.45. The firm has a market cap of $2.08 billion, a PE ratio of 14.80 and a beta of 0.87.

Hilltop (NYSE:HTH) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The financial services provider reported $0.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.41 by $0.16. Hilltop had a return on equity of 6.46% and a net margin of 8.90%.The firm had revenue of $303.31 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $310.18 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.31 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Hilltop Holdings Inc. will post 1.51 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hilltop Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.18 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 15th. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.2%. Hilltop’s payout ratio is currently 32.29%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price objective on Hilltop from $34.00 to $32.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Hilltop from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, July 26th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $32.00.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Hilltop

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Hantz Financial Services Inc. purchased a new position in Hilltop during the 2nd quarter worth $27,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Hilltop by 584.7% during the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,075 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 918 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in Hilltop by 141.8% during the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,400 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 821 shares during the last quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Hilltop by 827.3% during the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 1,493 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $43,000 after acquiring an additional 1,332 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SouthState Corp purchased a new position in Hilltop during the 1st quarter worth $56,000. 57.13% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.