Principal Financial Group Inc. Has $7.12 Million Stock Position in Hilltop Holdings Inc. $HTH

Principal Financial Group Inc. lessened its stake in Hilltop Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HTH) by 5.7% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 212,988 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 12,884 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.35% of Hilltop worth $7,118,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Hantz Financial Services Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Hilltop in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in Hilltop by 584.7% in the second 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 during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in Hilltop by 41.6% during the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,983 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $66,000 after purchasing an additional 583 shares in the last quarter. Fox Run Management L.L.C. bought a new stake in Hilltop during the second quarter worth $218,000. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC boosted its holdings in shares of Hilltop by 77.8% in the 2nd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 7,805 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $237,000 after purchasing an additional 3,416 shares in the last quarter. 57.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Hilltop in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Hilltop from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 16th. Stephens upped their price target on shares of Hilltop from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, October 27th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on Hilltop from $34.00 to $39.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 3rd. One equities research 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $37.50.

Hilltop Trading Up 1.8%

Shares of HTH stock opened at $39.28 on Friday. Hilltop Holdings Inc. has a 1-year low of $27.35 and a 1-year high of $40.41. The stock has a market cap of $2.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.82 and a beta of 0.94. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $35.95 and a 200-day moving average of $34.16.

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 the consensus estimate of $0.46 by $0.23. Hilltop had a net margin of 10.19% and a return on equity of 7.47%. The company had revenue of $217.40 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $300.15 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.55 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Hilltop Holdings Inc. will post 1.51 earnings per share for the current year.

Hilltop Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 13th will be given a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 13th. This is a boost from Hilltop’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.18. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.0%. Hilltop’s payout ratio is presently 27.17%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Hilltop news, CEO Martin Bradley Winges sold 26,000 shares of the business’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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 65,831 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,531,860.26. The trade was a 28.31% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Steve B. Thompson sold 9,025 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.84, for a total transaction of $359,556.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 91,817 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,657,989.28. This represents a 8.95% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 37,225 shares of company stock worth $1,436,516 in the last quarter. Insiders own 29.90% of the company’s stock.

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.