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

Shares of Hilltop Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HTH) have received an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the five analysts that are covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, one has given a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $37.50.

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on HTH shares. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Hilltop in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. 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 research note on Tuesday, February 3rd. Wall Street Zen downgraded Hilltop from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a 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.

Insider Activity at Hilltop

In related news, CEO Steve B. Thompson sold 9,025 shares of the business’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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 91,817 shares in the company, valued at $3,657,989.28. The trade was a 8.95% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Martin Bradley Winges sold 26,000 shares of the company’s 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 65,831 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,531,860.26. This represents a 28.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Hantz Financial Services Inc. bought a new position in Hilltop during the second quarter worth about $27,000. Strategic Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Hilltop during the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Hilltop by 584.7% during the second 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 during the period. Allworth Financial LP raised its position in shares of Hilltop by 37.3% in the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,153 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 313 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Danske Bank A S bought a new stake in shares of Hilltop in the third quarter valued at approximately $43,000. Institutional investors own 57.13% of the company’s stock.

Hilltop Price Performance

Shares of HTH stock opened at $37.38 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $36.67 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $34.76. Hilltop has a one year low of $27.35 and a one year high of $40.41. The stock has a market cap of $2.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.11 and a beta of 0.94.

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

Hilltop Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 27th. Investors of record on Friday, February 13th were paid a $0.20 dividend. This is an increase from Hilltop’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.18. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 13th. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.1%. Hilltop’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 30.19%.

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.