Hilltop Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HTH) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” from Brokerages

Shares of Hilltop Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HTH) have received an average recommendation of “Hold” from the five analysts that are covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1-year price target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $34.00.

HTH has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Stephens boosted their price target on shares of Hilltop from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 27th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Hilltop in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Zacks Research lowered Hilltop from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, November 14th.

Hilltop Stock Down 0.5%

NYSE:HTH opened at $34.92 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $2.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.91 and a beta of 0.91. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $34.17 and its 200 day simple moving average is $33.06. Hilltop has a twelve month low of $26.67 and a twelve month high of $36.13.

Hilltop (NYSE:HTH) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.74 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.49 by $0.25. Hilltop had a net margin of 9.86% and a return on equity of 7.18%. The business had revenue of $330.20 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $309.68 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.46 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Hilltop will post 1.51 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hilltop Announces Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CAO Keith E. Bornemann sold 2,200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.00, for a total transaction of $77,000.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 8,692 shares in the company, valued at approximately $304,220. The trade was a 20.20% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 29.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Hantz Financial Services Inc. bought a new stake in Hilltop during the second quarter worth about $27,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Hilltop by 584.7% in the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,075 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 918 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in shares of Hilltop by 141.8% in the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,400 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 821 shares in the last quarter. Danske Bank A S purchased a new stake in shares of Hilltop in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $43,000. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its position in Hilltop by 42.7% during 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 in the last quarter. 57.13% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.