Hodges Capital Management Inc. Sells 78,739 Shares of Hilltop Holdings Inc. $HTH

Hodges Capital Management Inc. cut its position in shares of Hilltop Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HTH) by 27.4% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 208,314 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 78,739 shares during the quarter. Hodges Capital Management Inc. owned approximately 0.33% of Hilltop worth $6,322,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Hilltop by 0.4% during the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 829,412 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $25,256,000 after buying an additional 3,225 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Hilltop by 32.0% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 796,277 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $24,247,000 after acquiring an additional 192,991 shares during the period. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Hilltop by 38.6% during the first quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 546,882 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $16,653,000 after acquiring an additional 152,358 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC boosted its position in Hilltop by 236.4% in the first quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 461,206 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $14,044,000 after purchasing an additional 324,108 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bridgeway Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Hilltop by 3.6% in the 1st quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC now owns 364,113 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $11,087,000 after purchasing an additional 12,585 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.13% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Steve B. Thompson sold 11,687 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $31.09, for a total transaction of $363,348.83. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 109,638 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,408,645.42. This trade represents a 9.63% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Chairman Jonathan S. Sobel acquired 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 27th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $35.36 per share, with a total value of $353,600.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chairman directly owned 127,429 shares in the company, valued at $4,505,889.44. The trade was a 8.52% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Insiders bought a total of 60,000 shares of company stock worth $2,022,800 in the last three months. Insiders own 29.90% of the company’s stock.

Hilltop Stock Performance

Shares of HTH stock opened at $32.98 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $2.02 billion, a PE ratio of 13.14 and a beta of 0.91. The business’s fifty day moving average is $33.43 and its 200 day moving average is $31.70. Hilltop Holdings Inc. has a 52-week low of $26.67 and a 52-week high of $36.13.

Hilltop (NYSE:HTH) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.49 by $0.25. Hilltop had a return on equity of 7.18% and a net margin of 9.86%.The firm had revenue of $330.20 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $309.68 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.46 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Hilltop Holdings Inc. will post 1.51 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hilltop Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 7th will be paid a $0.18 dividend. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 7th. Hilltop’s payout ratio is currently 28.69%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Stephens lifted their target price on Hilltop from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 27th. Zacks Research raised shares of Hilltop from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 16th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Hilltop in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Hilltop from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, July 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has assigned a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Hilltop currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $34.00.

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.