Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Increases Stake in Hilltop Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HTH)

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its holdings in Hilltop Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HTH) by 187.9% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 511,286 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 333,695 shares during the quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. owned approximately 0.78% of Hilltop worth $16,443,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Hilltop by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,239,587 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $184,486,000 after purchasing an additional 105,716 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its holdings in Hilltop by 9.8% during the first quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 11,742 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $368,000 after buying an additional 1,049 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted 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 acquiring an additional 9,824 shares in the last quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp increased its holdings in shares of 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 valued at $1,268,000 after acquiring an additional 514 shares during the period. Finally, Duality Advisers LP bought a new position in shares of Hilltop in the 1st quarter worth $275,000. 57.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Hilltop Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:HTH opened at $30.21 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.67 and a beta of 1.13. The business’s 50-day moving average is $31.82 and its 200 day moving average is $31.27. Hilltop Holdings Inc. has a 1 year low of $26.96 and a 1 year high of $35.66.

Hilltop (NYSE:HTH) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The financial services provider reported $0.46 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.39 by $0.07. Hilltop had a net margin of 7.10% and a return on equity of 5.30%. The firm had revenue of $411.49 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $302.29 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.57 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Hilltop Holdings Inc. will post 1.38 EPS for the current year.

Hilltop Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 22nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 8th will be given a dividend of $0.17 per share. This represents a $0.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.25%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 8th. Hilltop’s dividend payout ratio is presently 39.77%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on HTH. Stephens boosted their target price on shares of Hilltop from $33.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Hilltop from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on shares of Hilltop from $33.00 to $35.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $34.50.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hilltop

In related news, Director Hill A. Feinberg sold 17,157 shares of the firm’s 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 transaction, the director now owns 544,979 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,978,857.21. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 28.90% of the company’s stock.

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.