Hilltop Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HTH) Short Interest Down 11.8% in September

Hilltop Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HTH - Get Free Report) saw a significant drop in short interest during the month of September. As of September 30th, there was short interest totalling 1,120,000 shares, a drop of 11.8% from the September 15th total of 1,270,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 324,900 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.4 days. Currently, 2.5% of the company's shares are short sold.

Hilltop Stock Performance

Hilltop stock traded up $0.45 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $32.01. 443,733 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 309,721. Hilltop has a one year low of $26.78 and a one year high of $35.66. The stock has a market cap of $2.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.72 and a beta of 1.13. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $31.70 and a 200-day moving average price of $31.23.

Hilltop (NYSE:HTH - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 25th. The financial services provider reported $0.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.26 by $0.05. Hilltop had a return on equity of 5.30% and a net margin of 7.10%. The firm had revenue of $297.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $283.22 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.28 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 3.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Hilltop will post 1.38 EPS for the current year.

Hilltop Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 16th were paid a $0.17 dividend. This represents a $0.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.12%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 16th. Hilltop's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 39.77%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently issued reports on HTH shares. Stephens lifted their target price on Hilltop from $33.00 to $34.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on Hilltop from $33.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Hilltop from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $34.50.

Insider Transactions at Hilltop

In other news, Director Hill A. Feinberg sold 17,157 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.99, for a total transaction of $566,009.43. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 544,979 shares in the company, valued at $17,978,857.21. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 28.90% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Hilltop

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Hilltop by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,239,587 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $184,486,000 after acquiring an additional 105,716 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its holdings in Hilltop by 9.8% during the 1st quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 11,742 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $368,000 after purchasing an additional 1,049 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its position in Hilltop by 72.6% during the 1st quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 23,349 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $731,000 after purchasing an additional 9,824 shares during the last quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp lifted its holdings in Hilltop by 1.3% in the 1st quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp now owns 40,485 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,268,000 after buying an additional 514 shares during the period. Finally, Duality Advisers LP bought a new stake in shares of Hilltop in the 1st quarter worth approximately $275,000. 57.13% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.