Hilltop (NYSE:HTH) Stock Passes Above 200 Day Moving Average – Here’s What Happened

Hilltop Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HTH)’s stock price crossed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Wednesday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of $33.01 and traded as high as $34.58. Hilltop shares last traded at $34.4290, with a volume of 184,327 shares changing hands.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

HTH has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Stephens raised their target price on Hilltop from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 27th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Hilltop in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Zacks Research cut Hilltop from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, November 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $34.00.

Hilltop Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $2.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.72 and a beta of 0.91. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $34.06 and its 200-day moving average is $33.01.

Hilltop (NYSE:HTH) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.74 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.49 by $0.25. The company had revenue of $330.20 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $309.68 million. Hilltop had a return on equity of 7.18% and a net margin of 9.86%.During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.46 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Hilltop Holdings Inc. will post 1.51 EPS for the current year.

Hilltop Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 21st. Investors of record on Friday, November 7th were issued a $0.18 dividend. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 7th. Hilltop’s payout ratio is 28.69%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Hilltop news, CAO Keith E. Bornemann sold 2,200 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 owned 8,692 shares in the company, valued at $304,220. This trade represents a 20.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 29.90% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Hilltop

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Hilltop by 42.7% in the 3rd quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,334 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $45,000 after buying an additional 399 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in Hilltop by 41.6% during the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,983 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $66,000 after acquiring an additional 583 shares during the period. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS grew its position in shares of Hilltop by 6.1% in the second quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS now owns 11,695 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $355,000 after purchasing an additional 674 shares during the last quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas increased its stake in shares of Hilltop by 4.3% in the third quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 18,573 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $621,000 after purchasing an additional 761 shares during the period. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Hilltop by 3.2% during the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 26,780 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $895,000 after purchasing an additional 840 shares during the last quarter. 57.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Hilltop Company Profile

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.