Entropy Technologies LP Takes $477,000 Position in Hilltop Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HTH)

Entropy Technologies LP purchased a new stake in Hilltop Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HTH - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 16,660 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $477,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Inspire Investing LLC raised its stake in shares of Hilltop by 12.9% in the third quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 12,786 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $411,000 after acquiring an additional 1,462 shares during the last quarter. Beese Fulmer Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Hilltop in the third quarter worth about $203,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its stake in shares of Hilltop by 187.9% in the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 511,286 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $16,443,000 after acquiring an additional 333,695 shares during the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Hilltop by 5.9% in the third quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 13,794 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $444,000 after acquiring an additional 769 shares during the last quarter. Finally, QRG Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Hilltop by 11.4% in the third quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 63,222 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,033,000 after acquiring an additional 6,487 shares during the last quarter. 57.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hilltop

In other Hilltop news, 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 completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 9,124 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $291,968. This represents a 21.51 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 29.30% of the company's stock.

Hilltop Trading Down 1.2 %

Shares of HTH traded down $0.37 on Friday, reaching $31.54. 227,243 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 413,846. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.13 and a beta of 1.14. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $29.75 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $31.01. Hilltop Holdings Inc. has a 12 month low of $26.67 and a 12 month high of $35.32.

Hilltop (NYSE:HTH - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The financial services provider reported $0.55 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.28 by $0.27. Hilltop had a net margin of 7.04% and a return on equity of 5.18%. Equities research analysts predict that Hilltop Holdings Inc. will post 1.51 EPS for the current year.

Hilltop Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 27th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 13th will be paid a $0.18 dividend. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.28%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 13th. This is an increase from Hilltop's previous quarterly dividend of $0.17. Hilltop's dividend payout ratio is presently 39.08%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their target price on shares of Hilltop from $35.00 to $34.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Raymond James downgraded shares of Hilltop from a "market perform" rating to an "underperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and three have issued a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company 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.