Principal Financial Group Inc. Has $6.98 Million Stock Holdings in Hilltop Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HTH)

Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Hilltop Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HTH) by 2.5% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 229,375 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 5,685 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Hilltop were worth $6,984,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Teacher Retirement System of Texas bought a new position in Hilltop during the first quarter worth about $491,000. KBC Group NV increased its holdings in Hilltop by 18.7% in the 1st quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 3,111 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $95,000 after buying an additional 490 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its holdings in Hilltop by 54.0% in the 1st quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 16,012 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $488,000 after buying an additional 5,613 shares during the period. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund increased its holdings in Hilltop by 2.1% in the 1st quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 24,552 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $748,000 after buying an additional 495 shares during the period. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC increased its holdings in Hilltop by 182.9% in the 1st quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 11,623 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $354,000 after buying an additional 7,515 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.13% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

HTH has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their target price on shares of Hilltop from $34.00 to $32.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Raymond James Financial raised shares of Hilltop from an “underperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd.

Hilltop Stock Down 3.4%

Hilltop stock opened at $30.25 on Wednesday. Hilltop Holdings Inc. has a 12-month low of $26.67 and a 12-month high of $35.32. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $30.29 and its 200 day moving average is $30.03. The company has a market capitalization of $1.94 billion, a PE ratio of 15.36 and a beta of 0.87.

Hilltop (NYSE:HTH) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The financial services provider reported $0.65 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.28 by $0.37. Hilltop had a net margin of 7.87% and a return on equity of 5.79%. The firm had revenue of $318.46 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $290.68 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.42 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Hilltop Holdings Inc. will post 1.51 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hilltop Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 22nd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 8th were issued a $0.18 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 8th. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.38%. Hilltop’s dividend payout ratio is currently 36.55%.

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.