Hilltop (NYSE:HTH) Director Sells $484,000.00 in Stock

Hilltop Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HTH) Director Rhodes Bobbitt sold 12,100 shares of Hilltop stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.00, for a total transaction of $484,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 76,096 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,043,840. This represents a 13.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink.

Hilltop Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:HTH traded down $0.18 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $39.82. 242,060 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 257,644. Hilltop Holdings Inc. has a 52-week low of $30.25 and a 52-week high of $40.41. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $38.41 and a 200 day moving average of $37.58. The company has a market cap of $2.28 billion, a PE ratio of 14.75 and a beta of 0.89.

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, beating the consensus estimate of $0.49 by $0.14. Hilltop had a return on equity of 7.40% and a net margin of 10.17%.The company had revenue of $315.81 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $306.18 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.57 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Hilltop Holdings Inc. will post 2.51 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hilltop Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 7th will be issued a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 7th. This is a boost from Hilltop’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. Hilltop’s payout ratio is presently 29.63%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Millennium Management LLC lifted its position in Hilltop by 236.4% during the first quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 461,206 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $14,044,000 after purchasing an additional 324,108 shares during the last quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP raised its position in shares of Hilltop by 106.9% during the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 493,802 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $16,503,000 after buying an additional 255,141 shares in the last quarter. Freestone Grove Partners LP bought a new stake in shares of Hilltop during the 3rd quarter worth $8,337,000. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Hilltop by 37.5% during the 3rd quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 711,802 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $23,788,000 after acquiring an additional 194,287 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Hilltop by 32.0% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 796,277 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $24,247,000 after acquiring an additional 192,991 shares during the last quarter. 57.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

HTH has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Hilltop from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 16th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Hilltop from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. Zacks Research raised shares of Hilltop from a “strong sell” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, May 4th. Piper Sandler restated a “neutral” rating and set a $42.00 price target on shares of Hilltop in a research report on Tuesday, July 28th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on Hilltop from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has given a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $40.00.

Hilltop Company Profile

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.