Hilltop (NYSE:HTH) Downgraded by Raymond James to “Underperform”

Hilltop (NYSE:HTH) was downgraded by stock analysts at Raymond James from a “market perform” rating to an “underperform” rating in a report issued on Thursday,Finviz reports.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on Hilltop from $34.00 to $35.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. StockNews.com raised Hilltop from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and three have given a hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $34.50.

Hilltop Stock Down 5.2 %

NYSE:HTH opened at $29.44 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $1.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.06 and a beta of 1.13. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $31.68 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $31.58. Hilltop has a twelve month low of $28.58 and a twelve month high of $35.66.

Hilltop (NYSE:HTH) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The financial services provider reported $0.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.37 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $411.49 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $302.29 million. Hilltop had a net margin of 6.65% and a return on equity of 4.90%. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.57 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Hilltop will post 1.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Hilltop news, CEO Martin Bradley Winges sold 30,851 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.61, for a total value of $1,006,051.11. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 77,748 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,535,362.28. This trade represents a 28.41 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CAO Keith E. Bornemann sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.00, for a total transaction of $80,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 9,124 shares in the company, valued at $291,968. The trade was a 21.51 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 29.30% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Hilltop

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Sunbelt Securities Inc. bought a new stake in Hilltop in the third quarter valued at $29,000. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Hilltop by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,056,739 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $33,991,000 after purchasing an additional 17,477 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC increased its position in shares of Hilltop by 112.9% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 106,619 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,428,000 after buying an additional 56,537 shares during the period. Jane Street Group LLC lifted its holdings in Hilltop by 53.1% in the third quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 70,905 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,280,000 after buying an additional 24,591 shares during the period. Finally, State Street Corp boosted its position in Hilltop by 4.4% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,568,227 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $82,594,000 after acquiring an additional 107,348 shares in the last quarter. 57.13% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Hilltop Company Profile

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.