Insider Selling: Hilltop (NYSE:HTH) Director Sells 10,000 Shares of Stock

Hilltop Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HTH) Director Rhodes Bobbitt sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.00, for a total value of $380,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 87,016 shares in the company, valued at $3,306,608. This trade represents a 10.31% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink.

Hilltop Price Performance

Hilltop stock traded up $1.08 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $37.21. The stock had a trading volume of 282,342 shares, compared to its average volume of 302,717. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.09 and a beta of 0.88. Hilltop Holdings Inc. has a 1-year low of $28.92 and a 1-year high of $40.41. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $37.08 and its two-hundred day moving average is $36.31.

Hilltop (NYSE:HTH) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.64 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.54 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $300.51 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $304.87 million. Hilltop had a return on equity of 7.32% and a net margin of 10.13%.During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.65 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Hilltop Holdings Inc. will post 2.33 EPS for the current year.

Hilltop Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 22nd. Investors of record on Friday, May 8th were paid a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 8th. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.2%. Hilltop’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 30.30%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Hilltop

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in HTH. Strategic Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Hilltop during the fourth quarter worth about $33,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Hilltop by 584.7% in the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,075 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 918 shares during the period. Allworth Financial LP raised its holdings in shares of Hilltop by 37.3% in the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,153 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 313 shares during the period. Danske Bank A S purchased a new position in shares of Hilltop in the 3rd quarter worth about $43,000. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Hilltop by 42.7% in the 3rd quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,334 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $45,000 after purchasing an additional 399 shares during the period. 57.13% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently commented on HTH shares. Zacks Research raised Hilltop from a “strong sell” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Wall Street Zen lowered Hilltop from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 16th. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered Hilltop from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has issued a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $37.50.

Hilltop Company Profile

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.