Hilltop (NYSE:HTH) CEO Steve Thompson Sells 9,025 Shares

Hilltop Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HTH) CEO Steve Thompson sold 9,025 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 6th. The shares were 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. The trade was a 8.95% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink.

Hilltop Stock Up 0.5%

Shares of Hilltop stock traded up $0.19 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $40.02. 429,602 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 381,919. The business has a fifty day moving average of $35.60 and a two-hundred day moving average of $33.97. The company has a market capitalization of $2.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.10 and a beta of 0.94. Hilltop Holdings Inc. has a 1 year low of $27.35 and a 1 year high of $40.39.

Hilltop (NYSE:HTH) last announced its quarterly 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. Hilltop had a net margin of 10.19% and a return on equity of 7.47%. The firm had revenue of $217.40 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $300.15 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.55 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Hilltop Holdings Inc. will post 1.51 EPS for the current year.

Hilltop Increases Dividend

The company 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 13th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.0%. This is an increase from Hilltop’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.18. Hilltop’s dividend payout ratio is presently 27.17%.

Institutional Trading of Hilltop

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in HTH. Hantz Financial Services Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Hilltop during the 2nd quarter valued at $27,000. Strategic Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Hilltop during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Hilltop by 584.7% during the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,075 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 918 shares in the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP boosted its stake in shares of Hilltop by 37.3% in the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,153 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 313 shares during the period. Finally, Danske Bank A S purchased a new stake in Hilltop during the 3rd quarter worth $43,000. 57.13% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

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.