Hilltop (NYSE:HTH) Director Rhodes Bobbitt Sells 20,000 Shares of Stock

Hilltop Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HTH) Director Rhodes Bobbitt sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.12, for a total value of $802,400.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 56,096 shares in the company, valued at $2,250,571.52. The trade was a 26.28% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink.

Hilltop Trading Down 0.4%

Shares of Hilltop stock opened at $39.82 on Thursday. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $38.41 and its 200-day moving average price is $37.58. The firm has a market cap of $2.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.75 and a beta of 0.89. Hilltop Holdings Inc. has a 12 month low of $30.25 and a 12 month high of $40.41.

Hilltop (NYSE:HTH) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.63 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.49 by $0.14. Hilltop had a net margin of 10.17% and a return on equity of 7.40%. The company had revenue of $315.81 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $306.18 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.57 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Hilltop Holdings Inc. will post 2.51 earnings per share for the current year.

Hilltop Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 7th will be issued a $0.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 7th. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.2%. This is an increase from Hilltop’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. Hilltop’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 29.63%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Hilltop

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans increased its position in shares of Hilltop by 156.7% during the fourth quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 81,675 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,772,000 after purchasing an additional 49,859 shares in the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Hilltop by 43.3% in the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 165,263 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $5,920,000 after purchasing an additional 49,900 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in Hilltop by 39.8% during the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 286,079 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $10,247,000 after buying an additional 81,448 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC grew its stake in Hilltop by 6.2% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 265,731 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $9,518,000 after buying an additional 15,503 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Louisiana State Employees Retirement System acquired a new position in Hilltop during the 1st quarter valued at about $663,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.13% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Hilltop from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 16th. Weiss Ratings lowered Hilltop from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Friday, May 22nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on Hilltop from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Zacks Research upgraded Hilltop from a “strong sell” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, May 4th. Finally, Piper Sandler reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $42.00 price target on shares of Hilltop in a report on Tuesday, July 28th. One equities 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’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $40.00.

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.