Insider Selling: Hilltop (NYSE:HTH) Director Sells $18,313.75 in Stock

Hilltop Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HTH) Director Rhodes Bobbitt sold 455 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.25, for a total transaction of $18,313.75. Following the transaction, the director owned 55,641 shares in the company, valued at $2,239,550.25. This represents a 0.81% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website.

Hilltop Stock Performance

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

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, topping the consensus estimate 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 quarter last year, the company posted $0.57 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Hilltop Holdings Inc. will post 2.51 EPS for the current year.

Hilltop Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 21st. Investors of record on Friday, August 7th will be issued a $0.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 7th. This is an increase from Hilltop’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.2%. Hilltop’s dividend payout ratio is presently 29.63%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have issued reports on HTH shares. Wall Street Zen cut Hilltop from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 16th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on shares of Hilltop from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Hilltop from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Friday, May 22nd. Piper Sandler reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $42.00 price target on shares of Hilltop in a research report on Tuesday, July 28th. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of Hilltop from a “strong sell” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, May 4th. One 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Hilltop currently has a consensus 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 company. Strategic Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Hilltop during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Hilltop by 584.7% during the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,075 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 918 shares during the period. Allworth Financial LP lifted its stake in shares of Hilltop by 37.3% during the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,153 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 313 shares in the last quarter. Danske Bank A S purchased a new position in shares of Hilltop during the 3rd quarter valued at $43,000. Finally, Signaturefd LLC boosted its holdings in Hilltop by 276.4% in the 2nd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,370 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $53,000 after buying an additional 1,006 shares during the period. Institutional investors 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.