Jonathan S. Sobel Purchases 10,000 Shares of Hilltop (NYSE:HTH) Stock

Key Points

• Jonathan S. Sobel, Chairman of Hilltop Holdings Inc., purchased 10,000 shares at an average price of $32.70, increasing his total ownership of the stock by 36.46%.
• The company's most recent quarterly earnings report showed earnings per share (EPS) of $0.57, exceeding analysts' expectations of $0.41.
• Hilltop Holdings announced a quarterly dividend of $0.18 per share, which translates to an annual yield of 2.2%.

Hilltop Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HTH - Get Free Report) Chairman Jonathan S. Sobel purchased 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 14th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $32.70 per share, with a total value of $327,000.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chairman owned 37,429 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,223,928.30. This represents a 36.46% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link.

Hilltop Trading Up 4.5%

Shares of NYSE HTH traded up $1.4870 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $34.6970. 600,897 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 461,035. The company has a market capitalization of $2.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.56 and a beta of 0.87. Hilltop Holdings Inc. has a 52-week low of $26.67 and a 52-week high of $34.83. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $30.92 and a 200-day moving average price of $30.49.

Hilltop (NYSE:HTH - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results 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 net margin of 8.90% and a return on equity of 6.46%. The firm 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 firm earned $0.31 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Hilltop Holdings Inc. will post 1.51 earnings per share for the current year.

Hilltop Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 29th. Investors of record on Friday, August 15th will be issued a $0.18 dividend. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 15th. Hilltop's payout ratio is presently 32.29%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of HTH. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its position in Hilltop by 85.4% during the fourth quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 797,987 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $22,846,000 after buying an additional 367,564 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC lifted its position in Hilltop by 236.4% during 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. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its position in Hilltop by 364.0% during the second quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 360,551 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $10,943,000 after buying an additional 282,852 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its position 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 valued at $24,247,000 after buying an additional 192,991 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nuveen Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Hilltop by 116.0% during the fourth quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 322,583 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $9,236,000 after purchasing an additional 173,245 shares in the last quarter. 57.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their target price on shares of Hilltop from $34.00 to $32.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Hilltop from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, July 26th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $32.00.

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.