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

Hilltop Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HTH) saw a significant decline in short interest during the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 723,700 shares, a decline of 5.4% from the March 15th total of 764,900 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 311,800 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.3 days. Approximately 1.6% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. TheStreet cut shares of Hilltop from a “b-” rating to a “c+” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 13th. Raymond James upgraded Hilltop from an “underperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, January 5th.

Insider Activity

In other Hilltop news, Director Hill A. Feinberg sold 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $31.63, for a total value of $94,890.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 13,776 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $435,734.88. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, CEO Martin Bradley Winges sold 30,000 shares of Hilltop stock in a transaction on Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.83, for a total value of $924,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 98,934 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,050,135.22. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Hill A. Feinberg sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $31.63, for a total value of $94,890.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 13,776 shares in the company, valued at approximately $435,734.88. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 28.90% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Hilltop

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in HTH. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio lifted its holdings in shares of Hilltop by 12.4% in the third quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 3,860 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $96,000 after purchasing an additional 425 shares in the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG boosted its holdings in Hilltop by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 64,239 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,928,000 after purchasing an additional 432 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP increased its stake in Hilltop by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 107,313 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,778,000 after buying an additional 432 shares during the last quarter. Teza Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Hilltop by 5.2% during the 3rd quarter. Teza Capital Management LLC now owns 9,114 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $258,000 after buying an additional 449 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC grew its holdings in shares of Hilltop by 31.5% in the 1st quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,888 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $56,000 after acquiring an additional 452 shares in the last quarter. 57.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Hilltop Stock Down 1.1 %

Shares of NYSE HTH opened at $29.20 on Tuesday. Hilltop has a twelve month low of $26.78 and a twelve month high of $35.66. The stock has a market cap of $1.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.28 and a beta of 1.12. The company’s fifty day moving average is $30.67 and its 200-day moving average is $30.97.

Hilltop (NYSE:HTH) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 26th. The financial services provider reported $0.44 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.40 by $0.04. Hilltop had a return on equity of 5.20% and a net margin of 7.00%. The company had revenue of $290.20 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $296.89 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.39 earnings per share. Hilltop’s revenue was down 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that Hilltop will post 1.51 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hilltop Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 12th were given a dividend of $0.17 per share. This is an increase from Hilltop’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.16. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 9th. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.33%. Hilltop’s dividend payout ratio is currently 40.24%.

About Hilltop

Hilltop Holdings Inc provides business and consumer banking services. It operates through three segments: Banking, Broker-Dealer, and Mortgage Origination. The Banking segment offers savings, checking, interest-bearing checking, and money market accounts; certificates of deposit; lines and letters of credit, home improvement and equity loans, loans for purchasing and carrying securities, term, agricultural and commercial real estate, equipment loans, and other lending products; and mortgage, commercial and industrial loans, and term and construction finance.