Hilltop (NYSE:HTH) Price Target Raised to $42.00

Hilltop (NYSE:HTH) had its target price hoisted by Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $40.00 to $42.00 in a research report sent to investors on Wednesday morning,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a market perform rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on the company. Zacks Research upgraded Hilltop from a “strong sell” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, May 4th. Wall Street Zen lowered Hilltop from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 16th. Weiss Ratings downgraded Hilltop from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. Finally, Piper Sandler reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $42.00 price objective on shares of Hilltop in a research report on Tuesday, July 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has issued a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Hilltop presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $40.00.

Hilltop Stock Performance

NYSE HTH opened at $39.07 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $2.24 billion, a PE ratio of 14.47 and a beta of 0.89. Hilltop has a fifty-two week low of $30.34 and a fifty-two week high of $40.41. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $38.47 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $37.62.

Hilltop (NYSE:HTH) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.63 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.49 by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $315.81 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $306.18 million. Hilltop had a return on equity of 7.40% and a net margin of 10.17%.During the same period last year, the company earned $0.57 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Hilltop will post 2.51 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hilltop Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 21st. Investors of record on Friday, August 7th will be paid a $0.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 7th. This is a positive change from Hilltop’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.3%. Hilltop’s payout ratio is presently 29.63%.

Insider Activity at Hilltop

In other news, Director Rhodes R. Bobbitt sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.12, for a total transaction of $802,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 56,096 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,250,571.52. This represents a 26.28% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders have sold 62,555 shares of company stock worth $2,434,714 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 5.40% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Hilltop

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans increased its position in shares of Hilltop by 156.7% during the fourth quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 81,675 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,772,000 after acquiring an additional 49,859 shares in the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Hilltop by 43.3% during the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 165,263 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $5,920,000 after acquiring an additional 49,900 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Hilltop by 39.8% during the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 286,079 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $10,247,000 after buying an additional 81,448 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of Hilltop by 53.5% in the first quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 84,304 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,020,000 after purchasing an additional 29,395 shares during the period. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC raised its holdings in Hilltop by 6.2% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 265,731 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $9,518,000 after acquiring an additional 15,503 shares during the period. 57.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Hilltop

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.