Insider Selling: Hilltop (NYSE:HTH) Director 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 shares were sold at an average price of $40.12, for a total transaction of $802,400.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 56,096 shares in the company, valued at $2,250,571.52. This trade represents a 26.28% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.

Hilltop Stock Performance

Shares of Hilltop stock traded down $0.18 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $39.82. The company had a trading volume of 242,060 shares, compared to its average volume of 257,644. Hilltop Holdings Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $30.25 and a fifty-two week high of $40.41. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $38.41 and its 200-day moving average is $37.58. The company has a market cap of $2.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.75 and a beta of 0.89.

Hilltop (NYSE:HTH) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.63 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.49 by $0.14. The business had revenue of $315.81 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $306.18 million. Hilltop had a return on equity of 7.40% and a net margin of 10.17%.During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.57 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that Hilltop Holdings Inc. will post 2.51 EPS for the current fiscal 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 given a $0.22 dividend. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 7th. This is an increase from Hilltop’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. Hilltop’s payout ratio is 29.63%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have issued reports on HTH. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Hilltop from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Friday, May 22nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on Hilltop from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Piper Sandler reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $42.00 target price on shares of Hilltop in a research report on Tuesday, July 28th. Zacks Research raised shares of Hilltop from a “strong sell” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, May 4th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of Hilltop from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, May 16th. One 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $40.00.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Hilltop

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of HTH. Strategic Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Hilltop in the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Hilltop by 584.7% during the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,075 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 918 shares in the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP lifted its position in Hilltop by 37.3% in the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,153 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 313 shares during the period. Danske Bank A S bought a new stake in shares of Hilltop in the 3rd quarter worth $43,000. Finally, Signaturefd LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Hilltop by 276.4% in the second quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,370 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $53,000 after buying an additional 1,006 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.13% of the company’s stock.

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.