Hilltop (NYSE:HTH) Director Rhodes Bobbitt Sells 10,000 Shares

Hilltop Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HTH) Director Rhodes Bobbitt sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.00, for a total value of $380,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 87,016 shares in the company, valued at $3,306,608. The trade was a 10.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website.

Hilltop Stock Up 3.0%

NYSE HTH opened at $37.21 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $37.08 and its 200-day moving average price is $36.31. Hilltop Holdings Inc. has a 52 week low of $28.92 and a 52 week high of $40.41. The company has a market capitalization of $2.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.09 and a beta of 0.88.

Hilltop (NYSE:HTH) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.64 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.54 by $0.10. Hilltop had a return on equity of 7.32% and a net margin of 10.13%.The firm had revenue of $300.51 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $304.87 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.65 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Hilltop Holdings Inc. will post 2.33 EPS for the current year.

Hilltop Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 22nd. Investors of record on Friday, May 8th were given a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 8th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.2%. Hilltop’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 30.30%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have weighed in on HTH. Zacks Research upgraded Hilltop from a “strong sell” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, May 4th. Wall Street Zen cut Hilltop from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, May 16th. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut Hilltop from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Friday, May 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has given a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Hilltop presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $37.50.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Hilltop

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of HTH. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its stake in shares of Hilltop by 41.9% during the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 10,818 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $330,000 after acquiring an additional 3,192 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Hilltop by 623.7% during the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 79,654 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,425,000 after acquiring an additional 68,648 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its position in Hilltop by 5.1% during the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 27,846 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $848,000 after purchasing an additional 1,362 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC raised its position in Hilltop by 236.4% during the 1st 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its position in Hilltop by 32.0% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 796,277 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $24,247,000 after purchasing an additional 192,991 shares in the last quarter. 57.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.