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 company’s 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 sale, 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Hilltop Stock Performance

Shares of HTH stock opened at $38.51 on Friday. Hilltop Holdings Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $30.78 and a fifty-two week high of $40.41. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $38.87 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $37.79. The company has a market cap of $2.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.26 and a beta of 0.89.

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

Hilltop Increases Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on HTH shares. Piper Sandler reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $42.00 price objective on shares of Hilltop in a report on Tuesday, July 28th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Hilltop in a research report on Wednesday, August 19th. 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 report on Saturday, May 16th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on Hilltop from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has issued a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $40.00.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Strategic Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Hilltop during the fourth quarter worth about $33,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted 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 acquiring an additional 918 shares in the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP boosted its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 313 shares during the last quarter. Danske Bank A S bought a new stake in Hilltop during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $43,000. Finally, Signaturefd LLC increased its holdings in Hilltop by 276.4% during the 2nd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,370 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $53,000 after purchasing an additional 1,006 shares in the last quarter. 57.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.