Hilltop Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HTH) Short Interest Update
by Teresa Graham · The Cerbat GemHilltop Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HTH – Get Free Report) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest in February. As of February 13th, there was short interest totaling 1,521,440 shares, a growth of 26.6% from the January 29th total of 1,202,099 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 520,272 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.9 days. Currently, 3.7% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Currently, 3.7% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 520,272 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.9 days.
Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth
A number of brokerages have issued reports on HTH. Wall Street Zen downgraded Hilltop from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 21st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on shares of Hilltop from $34.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Zacks Research raised shares of Hilltop from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 16th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Hilltop in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has assigned a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $37.50.
View Our Latest Stock Report on HTH
Hilltop Price Performance
Shares of HTH stock traded down $0.51 on Wednesday, hitting $37.47. The stock had a trading volume of 265,892 shares, compared to its average volume of 417,151. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.14 and a beta of 0.92. Hilltop has a 1 year low of $27.35 and a 1 year high of $40.41. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $36.87 and its 200-day moving average price is $34.88.
Hilltop (NYSE:HTH – Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $0.69 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.46 by $0.23. Hilltop had a net margin of 10.19% and a return on equity of 7.47%. The firm had revenue of $217.40 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $300.15 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.55 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Hilltop will post 1.51 EPS for the current year.
Hilltop Increases Dividend
The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 13th were issued a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 13th. This is a positive change from Hilltop’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.18. Hilltop’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 30.19%.
Insider Buying and Selling at Hilltop
In other news, CEO Steve B. Thompson sold 9,025 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.84, for a total transaction of $359,556.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 91,817 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,657,989.28. This represents a 8.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Martin Bradley Winges sold 26,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.46, for a total transaction of $999,960.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 65,831 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,531,860.26. This represents a 28.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 29.90% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.
Institutional Trading of Hilltop
A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Public Sector Pension Investment Board grew its position in Hilltop by 10.7% in the 3rd quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 171,976 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $5,747,000 after buying an additional 16,683 shares during the last quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new position in Hilltop in the 3rd quarter valued at $1,064,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its position in Hilltop by 364.0% during the 2nd quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 360,551 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $10,943,000 after buying an additional 282,852 shares during the last quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Hilltop in the 2nd quarter worth $4,079,000. Finally, Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Hilltop in the 2nd quarter worth $640,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.13% of the company’s stock.
Hilltop Company Profile
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.