SG Americas Securities LLC Sells 11,524 Shares of Hilltop Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HTH)

SG Americas Securities LLC lessened its stake in Hilltop Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HTH) by 72.9% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 4,284 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 11,524 shares during the quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC’s holdings in Hilltop were worth $151,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of HTH. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC increased its stake in Hilltop by 200.0% during the first quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 1,524 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $45,000 after acquiring an additional 1,016 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its position in Hilltop by 31.5% during the first 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 during the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada boosted its stake in shares of Hilltop by 29.5% during the 3rd quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 2,482 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $62,000 after purchasing an additional 565 shares during the period. Captrust Financial Advisors grew its holdings in Hilltop by 16.7% during the 2nd quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 3,192 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $85,000 after purchasing an additional 456 shares during the last quarter. Finally, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its position in Hilltop by 23.5% in the 2nd quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 2,733 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $86,000 after purchasing an additional 520 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 57.13% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have issued reports on HTH shares. Raymond James upgraded Hilltop from an “underperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 5th. TheStreet lowered Hilltop from a “b-” rating to a “c+” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 13th.

Hilltop Stock Down 1.7 %

Shares of NYSE:HTH opened at $28.71 on Wednesday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $30.63 and its 200 day moving average is $30.97. Hilltop Holdings Inc. has a 52-week low of $26.78 and a 52-week high of $35.66. The stock has a market cap of $1.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.99 and a beta of 1.12.

Hilltop (NYSE:HTH) last announced its 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. The business had revenue of $290.20 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $296.89 million. Hilltop had a net margin of 7.00% and a return on equity of 5.20%. The firm’s revenue was down 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.39 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Hilltop Holdings Inc. will post 1.51 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hilltop Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 28th. Investors of record on Monday, February 12th were issued a dividend of $0.17 per share. This is an increase from Hilltop’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.16. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 9th. This represents a $0.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.37%. Hilltop’s payout ratio is 40.24%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Hilltop Company Profile

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.