Hsbc Holdings PLC Sells 27,065 Shares of Hilltop Holdings Inc. $HTH

Key Points

• Hsbc Holdings PLC has reduced its stake in Hilltop Holdings Inc. by 40.8%, now owning approximately 0.06% of the company valued at $1.19 million.
• In contrast, GAMMA Investing LLC significantly increased its stake by 4,242.6%, acquiring more shares and making it a notable investor in Hilltop.
• Hilltop Holdings recently reported earnings of $0.57 EPS, exceeding expectations, while also announcing a quarterly dividend of $0.18 per share.

Hsbc Holdings PLC decreased its holdings in Hilltop Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HTH - Free Report) by 40.8% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 39,224 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 27,065 shares during the quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC owned 0.06% of Hilltop worth $1,194,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Benjamin Edwards Inc. raised its position in Hilltop by 4.8% in the 4th quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 8,737 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $250,000 after buying an additional 397 shares during the last quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in Hilltop by 0.8% in the 1st quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 52,735 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,606,000 after buying an additional 418 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV raised its position in Hilltop by 18.7% in the 1st quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 3,111 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $95,000 after buying an additional 490 shares during the last quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund grew its stake in shares of Hilltop by 2.1% during the 1st quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 24,552 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $748,000 after purchasing an additional 495 shares during the period. Finally, MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Hilltop by 3.9% during the 4th quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 26,484 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $758,000 after purchasing an additional 989 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.13% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Wall Street Zen upgraded Hilltop from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, July 26th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $32.00.

Hilltop Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:HTH traded up $0.03 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $34.95. 220,038 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 411,636. The company's 50 day moving average price is $31.70 and its 200-day moving average price is $30.63. The firm has a market cap of $2.20 billion, a PE ratio of 15.67 and a beta of 0.88. Hilltop Holdings Inc. has a 52 week low of $26.67 and a 52 week high of $35.63.

Hilltop (NYSE:HTH - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 24th. The financial services provider reported $0.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.41 by $0.16. Hilltop had a return on equity of 6.46% and a net margin of 8.90%.The company had revenue of $303.31 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $310.18 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.31 EPS. On average, research analysts predict 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 was paid on Friday, August 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 15th were issued a dividend of $0.18 per share. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 15th. Hilltop's dividend payout ratio is 32.29%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Chairman Jonathan S. Sobel acquired 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 27th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $35.36 per share, with a total value of $353,600.00. Following the acquisition, the chairman directly owned 127,429 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,505,889.44. The trade was a 8.52% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Over the last 90 days, insiders purchased 60,000 shares of company stock worth $2,022,800. 29.90% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.