Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC Buys 81,780 Shares of Hilltop Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HTH)

Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Hilltop Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HTH - Free Report) by 27.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 382,430 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 81,780 shares during the period. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC owned about 0.59% of Hilltop worth $12,299,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Quest Partners LLC grew its holdings in Hilltop by 61.4% during the 3rd quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 48,393 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,556,000 after acquiring an additional 18,415 shares in the last quarter. Versor Investments LP boosted its holdings in shares of Hilltop by 171.4% in the 3rd quarter. Versor Investments LP now owns 34,200 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,100,000 after buying an additional 21,600 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its holdings in shares of Hilltop by 187.9% in the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 511,286 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $16,443,000 after buying an additional 333,695 shares during the period. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Hilltop in the 3rd quarter valued at about $575,000. Finally, Denali Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Hilltop in the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,408,000. 57.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Hilltop

In other news, CEO Martin Bradley Winges sold 30,851 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.61, for a total transaction of $1,006,051.11. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 77,748 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,535,362.28. This trade represents a 28.41 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, 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 transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 9,124 shares of the company's stock, valued at $291,968. The trade was a 21.51 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 29.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hilltop Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:HTH traded up $0.32 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $31.64. The stock had a trading volume of 267,390 shares, compared to its average volume of 313,266. The company has a market cap of $2.06 billion, a PE ratio of 19.41 and a beta of 1.13. Hilltop Holdings Inc. has a 12-month low of $28.58 and a 12-month high of $35.66. The company's 50 day moving average is $31.62 and its 200-day moving average is $31.54.

Hilltop (NYSE:HTH - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The financial services provider reported $0.46 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.37 by $0.09. Hilltop had a net margin of 6.65% and a return on equity of 4.90%. The firm had revenue of $411.49 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $302.29 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.57 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Hilltop Holdings Inc. 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 paid a $0.17 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 8th. This represents a $0.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.15%. Hilltop's payout ratio is presently 41.72%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Hilltop from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on shares of Hilltop from $34.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $34.50.

Hilltop 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.