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

Empowered Funds LLC grew its position in shares of Hilltop Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HTH - Free Report) by 5.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 199,528 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 9,672 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC owned approximately 0.31% of Hilltop worth $5,712,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Sunbelt Securities Inc. bought a new position in Hilltop during the 3rd quarter worth $29,000. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. bought a new position in Hilltop during the 3rd quarter worth $49,000. KBC Group NV increased its position in Hilltop by 64.0% during the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,621 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $75,000 after buying an additional 1,023 shares during the period. FMR LLC increased 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 worth $106,000 after buying an additional 885 shares during the period. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP bought a new position in Hilltop during the 3rd quarter worth $185,000. Institutional investors own 57.13% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Keith E. Bornemann sold 2,500 shares of the firm's 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 transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 9,124 shares in the company, valued at $291,968. This trade represents a 21.51 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 29.30% of the company's stock.

Hilltop Price Performance

NYSE:HTH traded down $0.37 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $31.54. The company's stock had a trading volume of 227,243 shares, compared to its average volume of 413,846. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $29.75 and a 200-day simple moving average of $31.02. The company has a market capitalization of $2.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.13 and a beta of 1.14. Hilltop Holdings Inc. has a twelve month low of $26.67 and a twelve month high of $35.32.

Hilltop (NYSE:HTH - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The financial services provider reported $0.55 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 analysts predict that Hilltop Holdings Inc. will post 1.51 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hilltop Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 27th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.18 per share. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.28%. This is a positive change from Hilltop's previous quarterly dividend of $0.17. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 13th. Hilltop's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 39.08%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently issued reports on HTH shares. Raymond James lowered Hilltop from a "market perform" rating to an "underperform" rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their target price on Hilltop from $35.00 to $34.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 3rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and three have issued a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Hilltop currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price 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.