Hilltop (NYSE:HTH) CEO Sells $999,960.00 in Stock

Hilltop Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HTH) CEO Martin Bradley Winges sold 26,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.46, for a total transaction of $999,960.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 65,831 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,531,860.26. The trade was a 28.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Hilltop Stock Down 0.1%

Shares of HTH stock opened at $39.80 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $35.49 and a two-hundred day moving average of $33.87. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.44 billion, a PE ratio of 15.02 and a beta of 0.94. Hilltop Holdings Inc. has a 52 week low of $27.35 and a 52 week high of $40.39.

Hilltop (NYSE:HTH) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $0.69 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.46 by $0.23. The business had revenue of $217.40 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 prior year, the company earned $0.55 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Hilltop Holdings Inc. will post 1.51 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hilltop Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 13th will be paid a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 13th. This is a boost from Hilltop’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.18. Hilltop’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 27.17%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Hilltop

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC acquired a new position in Hilltop in the second quarter valued at $363,000. CWM LLC grew its holdings in shares of Hilltop by 404.7% during the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 14,188 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $431,000 after buying an additional 11,377 shares during the last quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new position in Hilltop in the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,064,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its stake in Hilltop by 364.0% during the 2nd quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 360,551 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $10,943,000 after acquiring an additional 282,852 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC purchased a new stake in Hilltop during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $640,000. 57.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Zacks Research raised shares of Hilltop from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 16th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on shares of Hilltop from $34.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Hilltop in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, Stephens raised their price target on Hilltop from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has assigned a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $37.50.

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.