Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC Makes New $363,000 Investment in Hilltop Holdings Inc. $HTH

Key Points

• Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC has made a new investment of $363,000 in Hilltop Holdings Inc., acquiring 11,376 shares of the financial services provider.
• Hilltop Holdings recently reported earnings of $0.57 per share, exceeding analyst expectations, with a revenue of $303.31 million for the quarter, compared to a consensus estimate of $310.18 million.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.18 per share, with a dividend yield of 2.2% and a payout ratio of 32.29%.

Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC bought a new position in Hilltop Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HTH - Free Report) in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 11,376 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $363,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of HTH. Millennium Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Hilltop by 236.4% in the first quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 461,206 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $14,044,000 after buying an additional 324,108 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Hilltop by 32.0% in the first 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. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Hilltop by 38.6% in the first 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. Nuveen LLC bought a new position in shares of Hilltop in the first quarter valued at $3,763,000. Finally, Jane Street Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Hilltop by 506.6% in the first quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 121,781 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $3,708,000 after buying an additional 101,705 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 57.13% of the company's stock.

Hilltop Trading Down 1.4%

NYSE HTH opened at $32.63 on Wednesday. Hilltop Holdings Inc. has a 1-year low of $26.67 and a 1-year high of $36.13. The company has a market capitalization of $2.06 billion, a PE ratio of 14.63 and a beta of 0.87. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $33.29 and its 200-day simple moving average is $31.14.

Hilltop (NYSE:HTH - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The financial services provider reported $0.57 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.41 by $0.16. Hilltop had a net margin of 8.90% and a return on equity of 6.46%. The business had revenue of $303.31 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $310.18 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.31 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Hilltop Holdings Inc. will post 1.51 EPS for the current year.

Hilltop Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 15th were paid a $0.18 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 15th. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.2%. Hilltop's dividend payout ratio is 32.29%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Chairman Jonathan S. Sobel purchased 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 27th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $35.36 per share, for a total transaction of $353,600.00. Following the completion of 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Steve B. Thompson sold 11,687 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 of the company's stock, valued at $3,408,645.42. This trade represents a 9.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders bought 60,000 shares of company stock worth $2,022,800 over the last ninety days. 29.90% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have issued reports on HTH. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Hilltop in a report on Saturday, September 27th. Wall Street Zen raised Hilltop from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, July 26th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Hilltop currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $32.00.

Hilltop 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.

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