Insider Selling: Hilltop (NYSE:HTH) Director Sells $194,000.00 in Stock

Hilltop Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HTH) Director Rhodes Bobbitt sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.80, for a total value of $194,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 25,641 shares in the company, valued at approximately $994,870.80. The trade was a 16.32% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website.

Hilltop Price Performance

Shares of NYSE HTH traded down $0.12 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $38.55. 186,502 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 229,112. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $38.82 and its 200-day simple moving average is $37.80. The company has a market cap of $2.21 billion, a PE ratio of 14.28 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.

Hilltop (NYSE:HTH) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.49 by $0.14. The firm 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 in the prior year, the company posted $0.57 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Hilltop Holdings Inc. will post 2.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hilltop Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 7th were issued a $0.22 dividend. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 7th. This is a positive change from Hilltop’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. Hilltop’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 32.59%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have commented on HTH shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on 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 downgraded Hilltop from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, May 16th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Hilltop in a research report on Wednesday, August 19th. Piper Sandler reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $42.00 target price on shares of Hilltop in a report on Tuesday, July 28th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of Hilltop from a “strong sell” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, May 4th. One 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, Hilltop currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $40.00.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Strategic Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Hilltop during the fourth quarter worth approximately $33,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in Hilltop by 584.7% in the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,075 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 918 shares during the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP grew its position in Hilltop by 37.3% in 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 during the last quarter. Danske Bank A S acquired a new position in Hilltop in the 3rd quarter valued at $43,000. Finally, Signaturefd LLC increased its stake in Hilltop by 276.4% in the 2nd 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.

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.