Hilltop (NYSE:HTH) Sets New 1-Year High – Here’s What Happened

Hilltop Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HTH) shares reached a new 52-week high on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $40.41 and last traded at $39.6980, with a volume of 509973 shares. The stock had previously closed at $40.02.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently commented on HTH. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on Hilltop from $34.00 to $39.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Hilltop in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Stephens raised their target price on Hilltop from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 27th. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of Hilltop from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has assigned a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Hilltop has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $37.50.

Hilltop Stock Down 0.8%

The firm has a 50-day moving average of $35.70 and a two-hundred day moving average of $34.03. The company has a market capitalization of $2.43 billion, a PE ratio of 14.98 and a beta of 0.94.

Hilltop (NYSE:HTH) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $0.69 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.46 by $0.23. The company had revenue of $217.40 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $300.15 million. Hilltop had a return on equity of 7.47% and a net margin of 10.19%.During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.55 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Hilltop Holdings Inc. will post 1.51 EPS for the current year.

Hilltop Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 13th will be paid a $0.20 dividend. This is a positive change from Hilltop’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.18. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 13th. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.0%. Hilltop’s payout ratio is presently 27.17%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Hilltop news, CAO Keith E. Bornemann sold 2,200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.00, for a total transaction of $77,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 8,692 shares in the company, valued at $304,220. This represents a 20.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Steve B. Thompson sold 9,025 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.84, for a total value of $359,556.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 91,817 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,657,989.28. This represents a 8.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last quarter, insiders sold 37,225 shares of company stock valued at $1,436,516. Company insiders own 29.90% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Hilltop

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. CWM LLC increased its stake in Hilltop by 404.7% during the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 14,188 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $431,000 after purchasing an additional 11,377 shares during the period. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Hilltop in the third quarter valued at approximately $1,064,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its holdings in shares of Hilltop by 364.0% in the second quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 360,551 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $10,943,000 after purchasing an additional 282,852 shares in the last quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC purchased a new stake in Hilltop during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $4,079,000. Finally, Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC acquired a new stake in Hilltop during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $640,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.13% of the company’s stock.

About Hilltop

Hilltop Holdings, Inc (NYSE: HTH) is a Dallas, Texas–based financial holding company offering commercial banking, mortgage lending and capital markets services through its three primary subsidiaries: PlainsCapital Corporation, PrimeLending and HilltopSecurities. PlainsCapital provides deposit, lending and treasury management solutions to small and mid-sized businesses, professionals and individuals. PrimeLending specializes in home purchase and refinance loans, serving retail, wholesale and correspondent channels.