Empowered Funds LLC Purchases 9,672 Shares of Hilltop Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HTH)

Empowered Funds LLC lifted its position in Hilltop Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HTH) by 5.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 199,528 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 9,672 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC’s holdings in Hilltop were worth $5,712,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in HTH. Sunbelt Securities Inc. bought a new position in Hilltop in the third quarter worth $29,000. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Hilltop in the 3rd quarter worth about $49,000. KBC Group NV increased its stake in shares of Hilltop by 64.0% in the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,621 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $75,000 after acquiring an additional 1,023 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its position in Hilltop by 36.7% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,296 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $106,000 after acquiring an additional 885 shares during the period. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP bought a new stake in Hilltop during the third quarter worth about $185,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.13% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Hilltop

In related news, CAO Keith E. Bornemann sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.00, for a total transaction of $80,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 9,124 shares in the company, valued at approximately $291,968. This trade represents a 21.51 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 29.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hilltop Trading Up 1.6 %

Hilltop stock opened at $32.48 on Wednesday. Hilltop Holdings Inc. has a 12 month low of $26.67 and a 12 month high of $35.32. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $29.74 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $31.04. The firm has a market cap of $2.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.67 and a beta of 1.14.

Hilltop (NYSE:HTH) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The financial services provider reported $0.55 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.28 by $0.27. Hilltop had a return on equity of 5.18% and a net margin of 7.04%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Hilltop Holdings Inc. will post 1.51 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hilltop Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 27th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 13th will be paid a $0.18 dividend. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.22%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 13th. This is a boost from Hilltop’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.17. Hilltop’s dividend payout ratio is 39.08%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

HTH has been the subject of several recent research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their target price on shares of Hilltop from $35.00 to $34.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Raymond James downgraded Hilltop from a “market perform” rating to an “underperform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and three have given a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Hilltop has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $34.00.

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.