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

Wall Street Zen cut shares of Hilltop (NYSE:HTH) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research note issued to investors on Saturday morning.

Several other equities research analysts have also issued reports on the stock. Zacks Research lowered shares of Hilltop from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Hilltop in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on shares of Hilltop from $34.00 to $39.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 3rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $37.50.

Hilltop Stock Up 0.3%

HTH stock opened at $36.04 on Friday. Hilltop has a 12 month low of $27.35 and a 12 month high of $40.41. The firm has a market cap of $2.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.60 and a beta of 0.92. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $37.10 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $35.05.

Hilltop (NYSE:HTH) last released its earnings results 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 net margin of 10.19% and a return on equity of 7.47%. The firm had revenue of $217.40 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $300.15 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.55 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Hilltop will post 1.51 EPS for the current 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 issued a dividend of $0.20 per share. This is a boost from Hilltop’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.18. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 13th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.2%. Hilltop’s payout ratio is presently 30.19%.

Insider Activity at Hilltop

In related news, CEO Martin Bradley Winges sold 26,000 shares of Hilltop stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 3rd. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at $2,531,860.26. This trade represents a 28.31% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Steve B. Thompson sold 9,025 shares of Hilltop stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 6th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at approximately $3,657,989.28. This represents a 8.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last three months, insiders have sold 294,796 shares of company stock valued at $11,225,619. 29.90% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Hilltop

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in HTH. Strategic Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Hilltop during the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in Hilltop by 584.7% during the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,075 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 918 shares during the period. Allworth Financial LP boosted its position in Hilltop by 37.3% during the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,153 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 313 shares during the period. Danske Bank A S acquired a new stake in Hilltop during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $43,000. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its position in Hilltop by 42.7% during the 3rd quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,334 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $45,000 after buying an additional 399 shares during the period. 57.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Hilltop Company Profile

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.