Hilltop Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HTH – Get Rating) saw a significant growth in short interest during the month of December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 2,140,000 shares, a growth of 17.6% from the November 30th total of 1,820,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 388,700 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 5.5 days. Approximately 4.7% of the shares of the company are short sold.
Hilltop Stock Down 1.0 %
Shares of HTH traded down $0.29 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $30.01. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 146,920 shares, compared to its average volume of 359,677. The business has a fifty day moving average of $29.23 and a 200 day moving average of $27.74. The company has a market cap of $1.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.93 and a beta of 1.10. Hilltop has a 1 year low of $24.18 and a 1 year high of $38.23.
Hilltop (NYSE:HTH – Get Rating) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 20th. The financial services provider reported $0.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.22 by $0.28. The company had revenue of $330.46 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $307.69 million. Hilltop had a return on equity of 6.54% and a net margin of 10.11%. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.15 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Hilltop will post 1.53 earnings per share for the current year.
Hilltop Announces Dividend
The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 25th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 11th were given a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.00%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, November 9th. Hilltop’s dividend payout ratio is currently 29.85%.
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. StockNews.com raised Hilltop from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 27th. TheStreet raised Hilltop from a “c+” rating to a “b-” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 8th.
Insider Activity
In other news, Director Hill A. Feinberg sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.53, for a total transaction of $295,300.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 610,136 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,017,316.08. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, CAO Keith E. Bornemann sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.21, for a total value of $87,630.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 11,013 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $321,689.73. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Hill A. Feinberg sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.53, for a total value of $295,300.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 610,136 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,017,316.08. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 22.30% of the company’s stock.
Institutional Investors Weigh In On Hilltop
Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in HTH. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Hilltop by 197.2% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 751,515 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $22,094,000 after buying an additional 498,672 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Hilltop by 111.4% in the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 704,273 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $18,776,000 after buying an additional 371,133 shares during the period. State Street Corp lifted its stake in shares of Hilltop by 8.9% in the first quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,571,566 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $105,004,000 after buying an additional 291,456 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC bought a new stake in shares of Hilltop in the first quarter valued at about $8,184,000. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of Hilltop by 44.3% in the first quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 551,806 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $16,223,000 after buying an additional 169,295 shares during the period. 79.46% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
About Hilltop
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Hilltop Holdings Inc provides business and consumer banking, and financial products and 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, equipment loans and leases, agricultural and commercial real estate loans, and other loans; and commercial and industrial loans, and term and construction finance.
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