Empowered Funds LLC Acquires 15,503 Shares of Hilltop Holdings Inc. $HTH

Empowered Funds LLC increased its holdings in shares of Hilltop Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HTH) by 6.2% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 265,731 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 15,503 shares during the quarter. Empowered Funds LLC owned approximately 0.45% of Hilltop worth $9,518,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Strategic Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Hilltop during the 4th quarter worth about $33,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Hilltop by 584.7% in the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,075 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 918 shares in the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP grew its holdings in shares of Hilltop by 37.3% in the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,153 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 313 shares in the last quarter. Danske Bank A S acquired a new stake in shares of Hilltop in the third quarter valued at about $43,000. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Hilltop by 36.2% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,817 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $62,000 after acquiring an additional 483 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 57.13% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Rhodes R. Bobbitt sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the director directly owned 87,016 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,306,608. This trade represents a 10.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CAO Keith E. Bornemann sold 2,000 shares of Hilltop stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.00, for a total value of $76,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 7,912 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $300,656. This represents a 20.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders have sold 32,000 shares of company stock worth $1,206,000. Company insiders own 5.40% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently commented on the company. Piper Sandler reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $42.00 price target on shares of Hilltop in a research report on Tuesday. Wall Street Zen downgraded 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 research report on Friday, May 22nd. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded Hilltop from a “strong sell” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, May 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has assigned a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Hilltop currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $39.00.

Hilltop Price Performance

Shares of HTH opened at $39.36 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $38.23 and a 200-day moving average of $37.45. Hilltop Holdings Inc. has a one year low of $29.20 and a one year high of $40.41. The company has a market cap of $2.25 billion, a PE ratio of 14.58 and a beta of 0.88.

Hilltop (NYSE:HTH) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $306.18 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.57 EPS. Analysts expect 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. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 7th will be given a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.2%. This is a boost from Hilltop’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 7th. Hilltop’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 29.63%.

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.