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

Shares of Hilltop Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HTH) have earned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the five research firms that are covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 12-month price target among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $37.50.

HTH has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Hilltop in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on shares of Hilltop from $34.00 to $39.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 3rd. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Hilltop from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 21st. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of Hilltop from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 16th.

Hilltop Stock Down 3.7%

Shares of HTH stock opened at $37.38 on Friday. Hilltop has a 12-month low of $27.35 and a 12-month high of $40.41. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.11 and a beta of 0.94. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $36.67 and a 200-day moving average of $34.76.

Hilltop (NYSE:HTH) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $0.69 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.46 by $0.23. Hilltop had a return on equity of 7.47% and a net margin of 10.19%.The business had revenue of $217.40 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $300.15 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.55 EPS. Research analysts expect that Hilltop will post 1.51 earnings per share for the current year.

Hilltop Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 13th were given a dividend of $0.20 per share. This is an increase from Hilltop’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.18. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 13th. Hilltop’s payout ratio is currently 30.19%.

Insider Transactions at Hilltop

In related news, CEO Steve B. Thompson sold 9,025 shares of Hilltop stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chief executive officer owned 91,817 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,657,989.28. This trade represents a 8.95% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Martin Bradley Winges sold 26,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 3rd. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,531,860.26. This trade represents a 28.31% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 29.90% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Hilltop

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Royal Bank of Canada boosted its stake in shares of Hilltop by 41.9% during the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 10,818 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $330,000 after buying an additional 3,192 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Hilltop by 623.7% during the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 79,654 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,425,000 after acquiring an additional 68,648 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its position in Hilltop by 5.1% during the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 27,846 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $848,000 after purchasing an additional 1,362 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC grew its stake in Hilltop by 236.4% in the first quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 461,206 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $14,044,000 after purchasing an additional 324,108 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Hilltop by 32.0% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 796,277 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $24,247,000 after purchasing an additional 192,991 shares during the last quarter. 57.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.