Hilltop (NYSE:HTH) Reaches New 1-Year High After Insider Buying Activity

Hilltop Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HTH)’s stock price reached a new 52-week high during trading on Friday following insider buying activity. The stock traded as high as $34.72 and last traded at $34.77, with a volume of 136951 shares. The stock had previously closed at $33.21.

Specifically, Chairman Jonathan S. Sobel purchased 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 20th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $32.93 per share, with a total value of $329,300.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chairman owned 77,429 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,549,736.97. The trade was a 14.83% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Chairman Jonathan S. Sobel purchased 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 18th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $31.97 per share, with a total value of $319,700.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chairman directly owned 67,429 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,155,705.13. This trade represents a 17.41% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In related news, Chairman Jonathan S. Sobel purchased 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 14th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $32.70 per share, with a total value of $327,000.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chairman owned 37,429 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,223,928.30. The trade was a 36.46% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website.

Analyst Ratings Changes

HTH has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price target on Hilltop from $34.00 to $32.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Wall Street Zen raised Hilltop from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, July 26th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $32.00.

Hilltop Stock Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $2.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.56 and a beta of 0.87. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $30.92 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $30.50.

Hilltop (NYSE:HTH) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 24th. The financial services provider reported $0.57 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.41 by $0.16. Hilltop had a return on equity of 6.46% and a net margin of 8.90%.The firm had revenue of $303.31 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $310.18 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.31 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Hilltop Holdings Inc. will post 1.51 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hilltop Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 29th. Investors of record on Friday, August 15th will be paid a $0.18 dividend. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 15th. Hilltop’s dividend payout ratio is currently 32.29%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its stake in Hilltop by 0.8% in the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 870,474 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $26,419,000 after purchasing an additional 7,302 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in Hilltop by 0.4% in the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 829,412 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $25,256,000 after purchasing an additional 3,225 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its holdings in Hilltop by 32.0% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 796,277 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $24,247,000 after buying an additional 192,991 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its holdings in Hilltop by 8.8% in the 4th quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 644,365 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $18,449,000 after buying an additional 52,227 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. grew its holdings in Hilltop by 38.6% in the 1st quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 546,882 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $16,653,000 after buying an additional 152,358 shares in the last quarter. 57.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.