Hilltop Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HTH) Sees Large Drop in Short Interest

Hilltop Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HTH) was the target of a significant decrease in short interest in the month of November. As of November 15th, there was short interest totalling 840,000 shares, a decrease of 7.9% from the October 31st total of 911,600 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 327,500 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.6 days. Currently, 1.9% of the company’s stock are sold short.

Hilltop Stock Down 1.1 %

HTH stock opened at $31.35 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $31.62 and its 200 day simple moving average is $31.54. Hilltop has a fifty-two week low of $28.58 and a fifty-two week high of $35.66. The stock has a market cap of $2.04 billion, a PE ratio of 19.23 and a beta of 1.13.

Hilltop (NYSE:HTH) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The financial services provider reported $0.46 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.37 by $0.09. Hilltop had a return on equity of 4.90% and a net margin of 6.65%. The firm had revenue of $411.49 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $302.29 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.57 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Hilltop will post 1.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hilltop Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 22nd. Investors of record on Friday, November 8th were issued a dividend of $0.17 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.17%. Hilltop’s payout ratio is 41.72%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, StockNews.com raised shares of Hilltop from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $34.50.

Insider Activity

In other Hilltop news, CEO Martin Bradley Winges sold 30,851 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.61, for a total transaction of $1,006,051.11. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 77,748 shares in the company, valued at $2,535,362.28. This represents a 28.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CAO Keith E. Bornemann sold 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.00, for a total value of $80,000.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 9,124 shares in the company, valued at approximately $291,968. This represents a 21.51 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 29.30% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Hilltop

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. State Street Corp boosted its position in shares of Hilltop by 4.4% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,568,227 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $82,594,000 after purchasing an additional 107,348 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Hilltop by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,056,739 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $33,991,000 after purchasing an additional 17,477 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Hilltop by 2.6% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 794,060 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $25,537,000 after purchasing an additional 19,936 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its stake in Hilltop by 2.1% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 793,868 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $24,832,000 after acquiring an additional 16,426 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its holdings in shares of Hilltop by 90.5% during the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 592,138 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $19,043,000 after acquiring an additional 281,230 shares in the last quarter. 57.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Hilltop Company 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.