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

Hilltop Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HTH) Director Rhodes Bobbitt sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.50, for a total value of $395,000.00. Following the sale, the director owned 45,641 shares in the company, valued at $1,802,819.50. This trade represents a 17.97% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link.

Hilltop Trading Down 0.5%

NYSE HTH opened at $39.42 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.60 and a beta of 0.89. Hilltop Holdings Inc. has a twelve month low of $30.78 and a twelve month high of $40.41. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $38.73 and a 200 day moving average of $37.76.

Hilltop (NYSE:HTH) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.49 by $0.14. Hilltop had a return on equity of 7.40% and a net margin of 10.17%.The company had revenue of $315.81 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $306.18 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.57 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Hilltop Holdings Inc. will post 2.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hilltop Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 7th will be paid a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 7th. This is a positive change from Hilltop’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. Hilltop’s dividend payout ratio is currently 32.59%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

HTH has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Piper Sandler reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $42.00 price target on shares of Hilltop in a report on Tuesday, July 28th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on shares of Hilltop from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Hilltop from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 16th. Weiss Ratings cut Hilltop from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Friday, May 22nd. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded Hilltop from a “strong sell” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, May 4th. One equities research 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 company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Hilltop presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $40.00.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Hilltop

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Hilltop in the second quarter valued at about $256,179,000. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its position in Hilltop by 0.8% during the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 870,474 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $26,419,000 after acquiring an additional 7,302 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its stake 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 acquiring an additional 192,991 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC grew its stake in Hilltop by 3.7% during the 3rd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 762,326 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $25,477,000 after acquiring an additional 27,203 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. raised its holdings in Hilltop by 37.5% in the 3rd quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 711,802 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $23,788,000 after acquiring an additional 194,287 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.13% 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.