Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Reduces Position in Hilltop Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HTH)

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP cut its position in Hilltop Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HTH) by 1.2% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,451,664 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 41,736 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned 5.29% of Hilltop worth $107,965,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Hilltop by 2.9% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,393,284 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $168,918,000 after purchasing an additional 153,697 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its position in shares of Hilltop by 2.1% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 793,868 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $24,832,000 after purchasing an additional 16,426 shares during the last quarter. Hodges Capital Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Hilltop by 2.6% in the 2nd quarter. Hodges Capital Management Inc. now owns 472,101 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $14,767,000 after buying an additional 12,106 shares during the last quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Hilltop by 7.4% in the 1st quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 315,185 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $9,872,000 after buying an additional 21,771 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Scout Investments Inc. grew its position in shares of Hilltop by 3.1% in the 4th quarter. Scout Investments Inc. now owns 193,713 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $6,821,000 after buying an additional 5,765 shares during the last quarter. 57.13% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Hilltop Trading Down 0.4 %

NYSE:HTH opened at $32.70 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $32.35 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $31.16. Hilltop Holdings Inc. has a twelve month low of $26.78 and a twelve month high of $35.66. The company has a market capitalization of $2.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.12 and a beta of 1.13.

Hilltop (NYSE:HTH) last issued its quarterly 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. The business had revenue of $297.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $283.22 million. Hilltop had a net margin of 7.10% and a return on equity of 5.30%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 3.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.28 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Hilltop Holdings Inc. will post 1.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Hilltop Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 16th were issued a dividend of $0.17 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 16th. This represents a $0.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.08%. Hilltop’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 39.77%.

Insider Transactions at Hilltop

In other news, Director Hill A. Feinberg sold 17,157 shares of Hilltop stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the director now directly owns 544,979 shares in the company, valued at $17,978,857.21. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 28.90% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently commented on HTH shares. StockNews.com raised shares of Hilltop from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. Stephens increased their target price on shares of Hilltop from $33.00 to $34.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on shares of Hilltop from $33.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $34.50.

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.