Hilltop Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HTH) Receives Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Shares of Hilltop Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HTH) have been assigned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the five ratings firms that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $37.50.

A number of research analysts have commented on HTH shares. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Hilltop in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Hilltop from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 21st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on Hilltop from $34.00 to $39.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Finally, Zacks Research raised Hilltop from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 16th.

Hilltop Trading Down 1.0%

Shares of NYSE HTH opened at $37.07 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $2.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.99 and a beta of 0.92. Hilltop has a twelve month low of $27.35 and a twelve month high of $40.41. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $36.91 and a two-hundred day moving average of $34.89.

Hilltop (NYSE:HTH) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $0.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.46 by $0.23. Hilltop had a net margin of 10.19% and a return on equity of 7.47%. The business had revenue of $217.40 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $300.15 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.55 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Hilltop will post 1.51 earnings per share for the current year.

Hilltop Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 13th were paid a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.2%. This is a boost from Hilltop’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.18. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 13th. Hilltop’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 30.19%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Martin Bradley Winges sold 26,000 shares of Hilltop stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.46, for a total value of $999,960.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 65,831 shares in the company, valued at $2,531,860.26. This trade represents a 28.31% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Steve B. Thompson sold 9,025 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.84, for a total transaction 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. The trade was a 8.95% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Company insiders own 29.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Hilltop

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its position in Hilltop by 0.8% during the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 870,474 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $26,419,000 after purchasing an additional 7,302 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its holdings in Hilltop by 32.0% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 796,277 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $24,247,000 after acquiring an additional 192,991 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC raised its position in Hilltop by 3.7% in the third quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 762,326 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $25,477,000 after acquiring an additional 27,203 shares in the last quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Hilltop by 37.5% in the third quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 711,802 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $23,788,000 after acquiring an additional 194,287 shares during the period. Finally, UBS Group AG boosted its position in shares of Hilltop by 42.3% during the 3rd quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 647,003 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $21,623,000 after purchasing an additional 192,439 shares in the last quarter. 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.