Hilltop Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HTH) Short Interest Update

Hilltop Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HTH) saw a significant growth in short interest in February. As of February 13th, there was short interest totaling 1,521,440 shares, a growth of 26.6% from the January 29th total of 1,202,099 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 520,272 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.9 days. Approximately 3.7% of the company’s stock are short sold. Approximately 3.7% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 520,272 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.9 days.

Hilltop Stock Performance

Shares of Hilltop stock opened at $38.32 on Tuesday. Hilltop has a 52-week low of $27.35 and a 52-week high of $40.41. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $36.74 and its 200 day simple moving average is $34.82. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.46 and a beta of 0.92.

Hilltop (NYSE:HTH) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $0.69 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.46 by $0.23. The firm had revenue of $217.40 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $300.15 million. Hilltop had a net margin of 10.19% and a return on equity of 7.47%. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.55 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Hilltop will post 1.51 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hilltop Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 13th were issued a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 13th. This is an increase from Hilltop’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.18. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.1%. Hilltop’s dividend payout ratio is 30.19%.

Insider Activity at Hilltop

In related news, CEO Steve B. Thompson sold 9,025 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 6th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at approximately $3,657,989.28. This represents a 8.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Martin Bradley Winges sold 26,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.46, for a total value 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 $2,531,860.26. The trade was a 28.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 29.90% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Hilltop

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Millennium Management LLC boosted its position in Hilltop by 236.4% during the first quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 461,206 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $14,044,000 after buying an additional 324,108 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its stake in shares of Hilltop by 364.0% in the 2nd quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 360,551 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $10,943,000 after acquiring an additional 282,852 shares during the last quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP boosted its holdings in Hilltop by 106.9% during the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 493,802 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $16,503,000 after acquiring an additional 255,141 shares during the period. Freestone Grove Partners LP bought a new position in Hilltop during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $8,337,000. Finally, Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. increased its stake 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 worth $23,788,000 after purchasing an additional 194,287 shares during the period. 57.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have issued reports on HTH. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on shares of Hilltop from $34.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Hilltop in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Zacks Research upgraded Hilltop from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 16th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut Hilltop from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has given a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Hilltop has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $37.50.

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.