Principal Financial Group Inc. Increases Stock Holdings in Hilltop Holdings Inc. $HTH

Key Points

• Principal Financial Group boosted its Hilltop Holdings stake by 39.8% in Q1, buying 81,448 additional shares and bringing its total holding to 286,079 shares worth about $10.2 million.
• Hilltop beat second-quarter expectations, reporting earnings of $0.63 per share on revenue of $315.8 million, helped by higher revenues, stronger net interest income, and improving credit quality.
• The company raised its quarterly dividend by 10% to $0.22 per share and also expanded share repurchase plans, signaling confidence in cash generation and shareholder returns.

Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Hilltop Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HTH - Free Report) by 39.8% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 286,079 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 81,448 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 0.49% of Hilltop worth $10,247,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in HTH. Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its holdings in shares of Hilltop by 4,952.2% in the first quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 9,195 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $329,000 after buying an additional 9,013 shares during the last quarter. Hodges Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in Hilltop by 20.1% during the first quarter. Hodges Capital Management Inc. now owns 19,275 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $690,000 after buying an additional 3,225 shares during the last quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. raised its position in Hilltop by 22.8% in the first quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 11,963 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $429,000 after acquiring an additional 2,222 shares during the period. Canton Hathaway LLC bought a new position in Hilltop in the first quarter worth approximately $294,000. Finally, MQS Management LLC raised its position in Hilltop by 2.2% in the first quarter. MQS Management LLC now owns 16,453 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $589,000 after acquiring an additional 353 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.13% of the company's stock.

Hilltop News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Hilltop this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Hilltop posted Q2 2026 earnings of $0.63 per share, topping expectations, with revenue of $315.8 million also above estimates. Management cited higher revenues, stronger net interest income, and improving credit quality as key drivers, which should support investor confidence. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: The board increased the quarterly dividend to $0.22 per share, a 10% boost from the prior $0.20 payout, signaling confidence in cash generation and returning more capital to shareholders. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Hilltop also said it is boosting capital returns, including a higher share repurchase program, which can be viewed favorably by investors seeking earnings support and reduced share count over time. Article Title

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Zacks Research raised shares of Hilltop from a "strong sell" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Wall Street Zen cut Hilltop from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Saturday, May 16th. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded Hilltop from a "buy (b+)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has assigned a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $37.50.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Hilltop news, Director Rhodes R. Bobbitt sold 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.00, for a total transaction of $380,000.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 87,016 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,306,608. This trade represents a 10.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CAO Keith E. Bornemann sold 2,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.00, for a total value of $76,000.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 7,912 shares in the company, valued at approximately $300,656. This represents a 20.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 32,000 shares of company stock worth $1,206,000. 5.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hilltop Trading Up 3.5%

Hilltop stock opened at $39.26 on Friday. Hilltop Holdings Inc. has a 12-month low of $29.20 and a 12-month high of $40.41. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.54 and a beta of 0.88. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $38.04 and a 200 day moving average of $37.30.

Hilltop (NYSE:HTH - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.63 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.49 by $0.14. The business had revenue of $315.81 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $306.18 million. Hilltop had a net margin of 10.17% and a return on equity of 7.37%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.57 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Hilltop Holdings Inc. will post 2.33 EPS for the current year.

Hilltop Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 21st. Investors of record on Friday, August 7th will be paid a dividend of $0.22 per share. This is a positive change from Hilltop's previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 7th. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.2%. Hilltop's dividend payout ratio is presently 29.63%.

About Hilltop

Hilltop Holdings, Inc NYSE: HTH is a Dallas, Texas–based financial holding company offering commercial banking, mortgage lending and capital markets services through its three primary subsidiaries: PlainsCapital Corporation, PrimeLending and HilltopSecurities. PlainsCapital provides deposit, lending and treasury management solutions to small and mid-sized businesses, professionals and individuals. PrimeLending specializes in home purchase and refinance loans, serving retail, wholesale and correspondent channels.

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