Hilltop (NYSE:HTH) Cut to Sell at Wall Street Zen

by · The Markets Daily

Wall Street Zen cut shares of Hilltop (NYSE:HTH – Free Report) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research report released on Saturday.

Several other equities analysts also recently issued reports on the company. Stephens upped their target price on Hilltop from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 27th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on Hilltop from $34.00 to $39.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Hilltop in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded Hilltop from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has given a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $37.50.

Check Out Our Latest Analysis on Hilltop

Hilltop Stock Down 3.0%

Shares of Hilltop stock opened at $37.62 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $36.40 and its 200-day moving average price is $34.59. The company has a market cap of $2.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.19 and a beta of 0.94. Hilltop has a 52-week low of $27.35 and a 52-week high of $40.41.

Hilltop (NYSE:HTH – Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $0.69 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $217.40 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $300.15 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.55 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Hilltop will post 1.51 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hilltop Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 13th will be paid a $0.20 dividend. This is a boost from Hilltop’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.18. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 13th. Hilltop’s dividend payout ratio is presently 30.19%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Hilltop news, CEO Steve B. Thompson sold 9,025 shares of Hilltop stock in a transaction on Friday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.84, for a total transaction of $359,556.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 91,817 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,657,989.28. The trade was a 8.95% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Martin Bradley Winges sold 26,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.46, for a total transaction of $999,960.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 65,831 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,531,860.26. The trade was a 28.31% 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 Trading of Hilltop

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Hilltop by 22.6% during the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,566 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $53,000 after acquiring an additional 289 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its holdings in Hilltop by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 15,919 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $540,000 after buying an additional 304 shares in the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP raised its stake 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 acquiring an additional 313 shares in the last quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co boosted its stake in shares of Hilltop by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 37,559 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,275,000 after buying an additional 368 shares during the period. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Hilltop by 42.7% in the third quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,334 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $45,000 after acquiring an additional 399 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.13% of the company’s stock.

About Hilltop

(Get Free Report)

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.

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