Hilltop Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HTH) Sees Large Decline in Short Interest

Hilltop Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HTH) was the recipient of a significant decline in short interest during the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totaling 1,065,828 shares, a decline of 17.7% from the December 15th total of 1,295,625 shares. Currently, 2.5% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 327,527 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.3 days. Based on an average daily volume of 327,527 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.3 days. Currently, 2.5% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

HTH has been the topic of a number of research reports. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Hilltop in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Stephens raised their price objective on shares of Hilltop from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 27th. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded Hilltop from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, November 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Hilltop has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $34.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Hilltop news, CAO Keith E. Bornemann sold 2,200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.00, for a total value of $77,000.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 8,692 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $304,220. This represents a 20.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 29.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of HTH. Royal Bank of Canada grew its holdings in Hilltop by 41.9% in the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 10,818 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $330,000 after purchasing an additional 3,192 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC grew 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 valued at $2,425,000 after buying an additional 68,648 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of 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 worth $848,000 after buying an additional 1,362 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Hilltop by 236.4% during the 1st quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 461,206 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $14,044,000 after buying an additional 324,108 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Hilltop by 32.0% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 796,277 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $24,247,000 after buying an additional 192,991 shares during the period. 57.13% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Hilltop Price Performance

NYSE:HTH opened at $35.72 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $2.19 billion, a PE ratio of 14.23 and a beta of 0.91. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $34.41 and a 200-day simple moving average of $33.26. Hilltop has a 1-year low of $27.35 and a 1-year high of $36.13.

Hilltop (NYSE:HTH) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.49 by $0.25. The firm had revenue of $330.20 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $309.68 million. Hilltop had a net margin of 9.86% and a return on equity of 7.18%. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.46 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Hilltop will post 1.51 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hilltop Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 7th were paid a $0.18 dividend. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 7th. Hilltop’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.69%.

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.