Hilltop Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HTH) Short Interest Update

Key Points

• Hilltop Holdings Inc. experienced a significant 42.9% drop in short interest, decreasing from 1,960,000 shares at the end of July to 1,120,000 shares by mid-August.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.18 per share, resulting in an annualized yield of 2.0%, with a payout ratio of 32.29%.
• Hilltop's stock price fell by 1.3% to $35.28, with the stock currently holding a market capitalization of $2.22 billion and a P/E ratio of 15.82.

Hilltop Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HTH - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a large decrease in short interest in August. As of August 15th, there was short interest totaling 1,120,000 shares, a decrease of 42.9% from the July 31st total of 1,960,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 450,200 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.5 days. Approximately 2.6% of the company's stock are sold short. Approximately 2.6% of the company's stock are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 450,200 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.5 days.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Hilltop Trading Up 0.6%

NYSE HTH traded up $0.21 on Thursday, hitting $34.98. 305,115 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 442,541. The business's 50 day moving average price is $32.29 and its 200-day moving average price is $30.82. Hilltop has a 52-week low of $26.67 and a 52-week high of $36.13. The company has a market capitalization of $2.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.69 and a beta of 0.88.

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

Hilltop Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 15th were given a dividend of $0.18 per share. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 15th. Hilltop's dividend payout ratio is currently 32.29%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Chairman Jonathan S. Sobel acquired 10,000 shares of Hilltop stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 27th. The stock was bought at an average price of $35.36 per share, with a total value of $353,600.00. Following the transaction, the chairman directly owned 127,429 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,505,889.44. This represents a 8.52% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Over the last three months, insiders purchased 60,000 shares of company stock valued at $2,022,800. 29.90% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its position in shares of Hilltop by 0.8% during the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 870,474 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $26,419,000 after acquiring an additional 7,302 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of 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 worth $25,256,000 after buying an additional 3,225 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Hilltop by 32.0% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 796,277 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $24,247,000 after buying an additional 192,991 shares during the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its holdings in shares of Hilltop by 8.8% in the 4th quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 644,365 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $18,449,000 after buying an additional 52,227 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of 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 worth $16,653,000 after buying an additional 152,358 shares during the last quarter. 57.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.