Hilltop Holdings Insiders Sell US$2.8m Of Stock, Possibly Signalling Caution

Many Hilltop Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HTH) insiders ditched their stock over the past year, which may be of interest to the company's shareholders. When analyzing insider transactions, it is usually more valuable to know whether insiders are buying versus knowing if they are selling, as the latter sends an ambiguous message. However, shareholders should take a deeper look if several insiders are selling stock over a specific time period.

While insider transactions are not the most important thing when it comes to long-term investing, we would consider it foolish to ignore insider transactions altogether.

Check out our latest analysis for Hilltop Holdings

The Last 12 Months Of Insider Transactions At Hilltop Holdings

The President & CEO of Plainscapital Bank, Jerry Schaffner, made the biggest insider sale in the last 12 months. That single transaction was for US$1.3m worth of shares at a price of US$33.33 each. While insider selling is a negative, to us, it is more negative if the shares are sold at a lower price. The good news is that this large sale was at well above current price of US$29.65. So it may not shed much light on insider confidence at current levels.

In the last year Hilltop Holdings insiders didn't buy any company stock. You can see the insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last year depicted in the chart below. By clicking on the graph below, you can see the precise details of each insider transaction!

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Insiders At Hilltop Holdings Have Sold Stock Recently

The last quarter saw substantial insider selling of Hilltop Holdings shares. In total, Executive VP & Chief Accounting Officer Keith Bornemann dumped US$75k worth of shares in that time, and we didn't record any purchases whatsoever. This may suggest that some insiders think that the shares are not cheap.

Insider Ownership

Another way to test the alignment between the leaders of a company and other shareholders is to look at how many shares they own. A high insider ownership often makes company leadership more mindful of shareholder interests. It's great to see that Hilltop Holdings insiders own 29% of the company, worth about US$560m. Most shareholders would be happy to see this sort of insider ownership, since it suggests that management incentives are well aligned with other shareholders.

So What Does This Data Suggest About Hilltop Holdings Insiders?

An insider hasn't bought Hilltop Holdings stock in the last three months, but there was some selling. Looking to the last twelve months, our data doesn't show any insider buying. While insiders do own a lot of shares in the company (which is good), our analysis of their transactions doesn't make us feel confident about the company. So while it's helpful to know what insiders are doing in terms of buying or selling, it's also helpful to know the risks that a particular company is facing. In terms of investment risks, we've identified 1 warning sign with Hilltop Holdings and understanding this should be part of your investment process.

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For the purposes of this article, insiders are those individuals who report their transactions to the relevant regulatory body. We currently account for open market transactions and private dispositions of direct interests only, but not derivative transactions or indirect interests.

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This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.