Hilltop Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HTH) Short Interest Up 7.6% in December

Hilltop Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HTH) was the target of a large growth in short interest in the month of December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 881,000 shares, a growth of 7.6% from the November 30th total of 818,600 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 337,100 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.6 days. Currently, 1.9% of the company’s shares are short sold.

Hilltop Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:HTH traded up $0.16 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $28.63. The stock had a trading volume of 250,177 shares, compared to its average volume of 314,384. Hilltop has a 1 year low of $28.34 and a 1 year high of $35.44. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $31.17 and its 200-day moving average is $31.51. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.56 and a beta of 1.13.

Hilltop (NYSE:HTH) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The financial services provider reported $0.46 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.37 by $0.09. Hilltop had a return on equity of 4.90% and a net margin of 6.65%. The company 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 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Hilltop will post 1.48 EPS for the current year.

Hilltop Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 22nd. Shareholders 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.38%. Hilltop’s payout ratio is currently 41.72%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Raymond James lowered shares of Hilltop from a “market perform” rating to an “underperform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. StockNews.com upgraded Hilltop from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on Hilltop from $34.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and three have issued a hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $34.50.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Martin Bradley Winges sold 30,851 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.61, for a total value of $1,006,051.11. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 77,748 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,535,362.28. The trade was a 28.41 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Keith E. Bornemann sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.00, for a total value of $80,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 9,124 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $291,968. This trade 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.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of HTH. State Street Corp lifted its position in Hilltop by 4.4% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,568,227 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $82,594,000 after acquiring an additional 107,348 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of 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 valued at $33,991,000 after purchasing an additional 17,477 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Hilltop by 2.6% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 794,060 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $25,537,000 after purchasing an additional 19,936 shares during the period. 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 worth $24,832,000 after buying an additional 16,426 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its position in Hilltop by 90.5% during the third quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 592,138 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $19,043,000 after buying an additional 281,230 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.13% of the company’s stock.

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.