AlphaQuest LLC Purchases 8,810 Shares of Hilltop Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HTH)

AlphaQuest LLC grew its position in shares of Hilltop Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HTH) by 18.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 57,203 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 8,810 shares during the period. AlphaQuest LLC’s holdings in Hilltop were worth $1,638,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Amundi raised its stake in Hilltop by 191.5% in the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 23,666 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $659,000 after buying an additional 15,547 shares in the last quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. bought a new position in Hilltop in the fourth quarter worth about $1,041,000. Inceptionr LLC bought a new position in Hilltop in the fourth quarter worth about $220,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in Hilltop in the fourth quarter worth about $3,978,000. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in Hilltop in the fourth quarter worth about $317,000. 57.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Hilltop Stock Performance

Shares of HTH opened at $31.71 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $2.06 billion, a PE ratio of 18.22 and a beta of 1.14. Hilltop Holdings Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $26.67 and a fifty-two week high of $35.32. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $30.14 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $31.09.

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

Hilltop Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 27th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 13th were issued a $0.18 dividend. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.27%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 13th. This is a boost from Hilltop’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.17. Hilltop’s dividend payout ratio is 41.38%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

HTH has been the subject of a number of research reports. Raymond James downgraded shares of Hilltop from a “market perform” rating to an “underperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price target on shares of Hilltop from $35.00 to $34.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and three have given a hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Hilltop has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $34.00.

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.