Two Sigma Advisers LP Raises Holdings in Hilltop Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HTH)

Two Sigma Advisers LP boosted its stake in Hilltop Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HTH) by 23.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 104,100 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 20,000 shares during the quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP owned approximately 0.16% of Hilltop worth $2,980,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Hilltop by 85.4% in the fourth quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 797,987 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $22,846,000 after acquiring an additional 367,564 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Hilltop by 116.0% in the 4th quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 322,583 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $9,236,000 after purchasing an additional 173,245 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Hilltop in the 4th quarter valued at about $3,978,000. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC lifted its holdings in Hilltop by 158.9% in the 4th quarter. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC now owns 153,271 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,388,000 after purchasing an additional 94,073 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hodges Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Hilltop by 20.7% during the 4th quarter. Hodges Capital Management Inc. now owns 522,503 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $14,959,000 after purchasing an additional 89,724 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.13% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price objective on shares of Hilltop from $34.00 to $32.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Raymond James upgraded Hilltop from an “underperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd.

Hilltop Price Performance

Shares of HTH stock opened at $29.98 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $29.64 and its 200-day simple moving average is $30.27. Hilltop Holdings Inc. has a 1-year low of $26.67 and a 1-year high of $35.32. The firm has a market cap of $1.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.23 and a beta of 0.87.

Hilltop (NYSE:HTH) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The financial services provider reported $0.65 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.28 by $0.37. Hilltop had a net margin of 7.04% and a return on equity of 5.18%. The company had revenue of $318.46 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $290.68 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.42 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Hilltop Holdings Inc. will post 1.51 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hilltop Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 22nd. Investors of record on Thursday, May 8th were issued a $0.18 dividend. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.40%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 8th. Hilltop’s payout ratio is currently 36.55%.

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.