Inceptionr LLC Makes New $220,000 Investment in Hilltop Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HTH)

Inceptionr LLC purchased a new position in Hilltop Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HTH) in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor purchased 7,669 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $220,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in HTH. Versor Investments LP boosted its stake in Hilltop by 171.4% in the 3rd quarter. Versor Investments LP now owns 34,200 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,100,000 after purchasing an additional 21,600 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in Hilltop by 4.9% in the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 25,984 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $836,000 after purchasing an additional 1,218 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its position in shares of Hilltop by 5.4% during the 3rd quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 189,856 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $6,106,000 after acquiring an additional 9,648 shares during the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Hilltop by 61.4% during the 3rd quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 48,393 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,556,000 after acquiring an additional 18,415 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Hilltop during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $270,000. 57.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Hilltop Stock Performance

NYSE:HTH opened at $30.68 on Tuesday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $30.14 and its 200 day moving average is $31.09. Hilltop Holdings Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $26.67 and a fifty-two week high of $35.32. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.99 billion, a PE ratio of 17.63 and a beta of 1.14.

Hilltop (NYSE:HTH) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The financial services provider reported $0.55 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.28 by $0.27. Hilltop had a return on equity of 5.18% and a net margin of 7.04%. Equities analysts forecast that Hilltop Holdings Inc. will post 1.51 EPS for the current year.

Hilltop Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 27th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 13th were paid a $0.18 dividend. This is a positive change from Hilltop’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.17. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 13th. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.35%. Hilltop’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 41.38%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently commented on HTH. Raymond James downgraded Hilltop from a “market perform” rating to an “underperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their target price on Hilltop from $35.00 to $34.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and three have issued a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Hilltop has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $34.00.

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.