Hilltop Holdings Inc. $HTH Stock Holdings Cut by Hodges Capital Management Inc.

Hodges Capital Management Inc. cut its position in shares of Hilltop Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HTH) by 8.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 190,483 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 17,831 shares during the quarter. Hodges Capital Management Inc. owned 0.31% of Hilltop worth $6,366,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of HTH. Hantz Financial Services Inc. acquired a new position in Hilltop during the second quarter worth about $27,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Hilltop by 584.7% during 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 in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Hilltop by 42.7% in the 3rd quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,334 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $45,000 after purchasing an additional 399 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in shares of Hilltop by 41.6% in the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,983 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $66,000 after purchasing an additional 583 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fox Run Management L.L.C. acquired a new stake in Hilltop during the second quarter valued at approximately $218,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.13% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on shares of Hilltop from $34.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Stephens lifted their target price on Hilltop from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, October 27th. Zacks Research upgraded Hilltop from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 16th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Hilltop in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. One equities 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 MarketBeat, Hilltop currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $37.50.

Hilltop Trading Down 0.7%

Shares of Hilltop stock opened at $38.98 on Wednesday. Hilltop Holdings Inc. has a 1 year low of $27.35 and a 1 year high of $40.41. The company has a market cap of $2.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.71 and a beta of 0.94. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $36.14 and a 200 day moving average price of $34.36.

Hilltop (NYSE:HTH) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $0.69 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.46 by $0.23. The company had revenue of $217.40 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $300.15 million. Hilltop had a return on equity of 7.47% and a net margin of 10.19%.During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.55 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Hilltop Holdings Inc. will post 1.51 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hilltop Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 13th will be given a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 13th. This is a positive change from Hilltop’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.18. Hilltop’s payout ratio is currently 30.19%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hilltop

In other Hilltop news, CEO Steve B. Thompson sold 9,025 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.84, for a total value of $359,556.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 91,817 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,657,989.28. This represents a 8.95% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CAO Keith E. Bornemann sold 2,200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.00, for a total value of $77,000.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 8,692 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $304,220. This trade represents a 20.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 37,225 shares of company stock valued at $1,436,516 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 29.90% of the company’s stock.

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.