Hilltop (NYSE:HTH) Stock Rating Lowered by StockNews.com

StockNews.com cut shares of Hilltop (NYSE:HTH) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a report published on Wednesday.

Several other research analysts have also weighed in on HTH. Stephens increased their target price on Hilltop from $33.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on Hilltop from $33.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock a market perform rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and three have given a hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Hilltop currently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average price target of $34.50.

Hilltop Price Performance

NYSE HTH opened at $31.28 on Wednesday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $31.84 and a 200-day moving average of $31.20. Hilltop has a 12 month low of $26.78 and a 12 month high of $35.66. The company has a market cap of $2.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.29 and a beta of 1.13.

Hilltop (NYSE:HTH) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The financial services provider reported $0.31 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.26 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $297.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $283.22 million. Hilltop had a net margin of 7.10% and a return on equity of 5.30%. Hilltop’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.28 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Hilltop will post 1.36 EPS for the current year.

Hilltop Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 16th were paid a dividend of $0.17 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 16th. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.17%. Hilltop’s dividend payout ratio is currently 39.77%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Hill A. Feinberg sold 17,157 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.99, for a total transaction of $566,009.43. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 544,979 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,978,857.21. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 28.90% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Hilltop

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of HTH. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Hilltop by 7.4% in the 1st quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 315,185 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $9,872,000 after buying an additional 21,771 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Hilltop by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,239,587 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $184,486,000 after acquiring an additional 105,716 shares during the last quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. acquired a new position in shares of Hilltop in the first quarter worth about $1,230,000. Quantbot Technologies LP purchased a new position in Hilltop in the first quarter valued at about $520,000. Finally, Denali Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Hilltop during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $1,408,000. 57.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Hilltop

Hilltop Holdings Inc provides business and consumer banking services. It operates through three segments: Banking, Broker-Dealer, and Mortgage Origination. The Banking segment offers savings, checking, interest-bearing checking, and money market accounts; certificates of deposit; lines and letters of credit, home improvement and equity loans, loans for purchasing and carrying securities, term, agricultural and commercial real estate, equipment loans, and other lending products; and mortgage, commercial and industrial loans, and term and construction finance.