Hilltop (NYSE:HTH) Upgraded by StockNews.com to “Hold”

Hilltop (NYSE:HTH) was upgraded by equities researchers at StockNews.com from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday.

Several other equities research analysts have also issued reports on the company. Stephens raised their price objective on Hilltop from $33.00 to $34.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on Hilltop from $33.00 to $35.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $34.50.

Hilltop Trading Up 0.9 %

Shares of Hilltop stock opened at $31.36 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $31.37 and a 200 day moving average of $30.92. Hilltop has a 12 month low of $26.78 and a 12 month high of $35.66. The firm has a market cap of $2.05 billion, a PE ratio of 18.34 and a beta of 1.12.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Hill A. Feinberg sold 3,776 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.91, for a total transaction of $112,940.16. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 10,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $299,100. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 28.90% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Hilltop

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of HTH. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its holdings in Hilltop by 278.6% during the 1st quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 252,476 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $7,908,000 after purchasing an additional 185,789 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Hilltop by 2.9% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,393,284 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $168,918,000 after purchasing an additional 153,697 shares during the period. Denali Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Hilltop during the 2nd quarter worth $1,408,000. Edgestream Partners L.P. purchased a new position in Hilltop during the 1st quarter worth $1,230,000. Finally, King Luther Capital Management Corp increased its holdings in Hilltop by 86.2% during the 4th quarter. King Luther Capital Management Corp now owns 81,082 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,855,000 after purchasing an additional 37,540 shares during the period. 57.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.