Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. Buys 21,771 Shares of Hilltop Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HTH)

Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Hilltop Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HTH) by 7.4% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 315,185 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 21,771 shares during the quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. owned 0.48% of Hilltop worth $9,872,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Handelsbanken Fonder AB lifted its holdings in Hilltop by 3.9% in the fourth quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 13,446 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $473,000 after acquiring an additional 500 shares during the period. Inspire Investing LLC raised its holdings in Hilltop by 4.7% in the 1st quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 11,452 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $359,000 after purchasing an additional 514 shares during the period. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp lifted its position in Hilltop by 1.3% during the first quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp now owns 40,485 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,268,000 after purchasing an additional 514 shares in the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Hilltop by 7.4% during the first quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 9,407 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $295,000 after purchasing an additional 647 shares during the period. Finally, Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund increased its position in Hilltop by 2.9% in the first quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 25,856 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $810,000 after buying an additional 718 shares in the last quarter. 57.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on HTH shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on shares of Hilltop from $33.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday. Stephens increased 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. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $34.50.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Hill A. Feinberg sold 3,776 shares of Hilltop stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.91, for a total transaction of $112,940.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 10,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $299,100. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 28.90% of the company’s stock.

Hilltop Stock Down 0.5 %

HTH traded down $0.17 on Wednesday, hitting $33.40. The company had a trading volume of 64,718 shares, compared to its average volume of 307,642. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $31.22 and its 200 day simple moving average is $31.12. Hilltop Holdings Inc. has a 12-month low of $26.78 and a 12-month high of $35.66. The company has a market cap of $2.18 billion, a PE ratio of 19.64 and a beta of 1.12.

Hilltop (NYSE:HTH) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The financial services provider reported $0.31 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 quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.28 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 3.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that Hilltop Holdings Inc. will post 1.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hilltop Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 16th will be given a dividend of $0.17 per share. This represents a $0.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.04%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 16th. Hilltop’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 39.77%.

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.