Rafferty Asset Management LLC Has $1.71 Million Position in Hilltop Holdings Inc. $HTH

Rafferty Asset Management LLC reduced its holdings in Hilltop Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HTH) by 17.9% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 56,222 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 12,287 shares during the period. Rafferty Asset Management LLC owned approximately 0.09% of Hilltop worth $1,712,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of HTH. First Trust Advisors LP lifted its holdings in Hilltop by 48.5% in the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 75,086 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,150,000 after buying an additional 24,515 shares during the period. MetLife Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Hilltop by 5.8% in the fourth quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 28,369 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $812,000 after purchasing an additional 1,556 shares in the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC increased its stake in Hilltop by 228.7% in the fourth quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 10,947 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $313,000 after purchasing an additional 7,617 shares in the last quarter. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Hilltop in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $683,000. Finally, Algert Global LLC increased its stake in Hilltop by 49.9% in the fourth quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 13,348 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $382,000 after purchasing an additional 4,442 shares in the last quarter. 57.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In related news, Chairman Jonathan S. Sobel acquired 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 27th. The stock was bought at an average price of $35.36 per share, with a total value of $353,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman directly owned 127,429 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,505,889.44. The trade was a 8.52% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders have acquired a total of 60,000 shares of company stock worth $2,022,800 over the last ninety days. 29.90% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Hilltop from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note 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 a consensus target price of $32.00.

Hilltop Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:HTH opened at $35.12 on Friday. Hilltop Holdings Inc. has a 52 week low of $26.67 and a 52 week high of $35.63. The company has a market capitalization of $2.21 billion, a PE ratio of 15.75 and a beta of 0.87. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $31.49 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $30.59.

Hilltop (NYSE:HTH) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 24th. The financial services provider reported $0.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.41 by $0.16. Hilltop had a net margin of 8.90% and a return on equity of 6.46%. The company had revenue of $303.31 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $310.18 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.31 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Hilltop Holdings Inc. will post 1.51 earnings per share for the current year.

Hilltop Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 15th were given a dividend of $0.18 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 15th. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.1%. Hilltop’s dividend payout ratio is currently 32.29%.

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.