Hilltop Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HTH) Given Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Shares of Hilltop Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HTH) have earned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the five analysts that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $40.00.

Several equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Hilltop from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b+)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 2nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on shares of Hilltop from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, Piper Sandler reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $42.00 price objective on shares of Hilltop in a report on Tuesday, July 28th.

Insider Transactions at Hilltop

In related news, Director Rhodes Bobbitt sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.80, for a total transaction of $194,000.00. Following the sale, the director owned 25,641 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $994,870.80. This represents a 16.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders sold a total of 52,555 shares of company stock worth $2,087,714 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 5.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its stake in Hilltop by 5.5% in the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 21,219 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $823,000 after purchasing an additional 1,103 shares in the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Hilltop during the second quarter worth about $250,000. Tidal Investments LLC acquired a new stake in Hilltop during the second quarter worth about $592,000. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC bought a new position in Hilltop in the 2nd quarter valued at about $88,000. Finally, Squarepoint Ops LLC bought a new position in Hilltop in the 2nd quarter valued at about $474,000. Institutional investors own 57.13% of the company’s stock.

Hilltop Stock Up 0.2%

Shares of HTH stock opened at $38.94 on Wednesday. Hilltop has a 12-month low of $30.78 and a 12-month high of $40.41. The company has a market capitalization of $2.23 billion, a PE ratio of 14.42 and a beta of 0.88. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $38.83 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $37.77.

Hilltop (NYSE:HTH) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.49 by $0.14. Hilltop had a return on equity of 7.40% and a net margin of 10.17%.The business had revenue of $315.81 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $306.18 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.57 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Hilltop will post 2.59 EPS for the current year.

Hilltop Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 21st. Investors of record on Friday, August 7th were paid a $0.22 dividend. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.3%. This is an increase from Hilltop’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 7th. Hilltop’s dividend payout ratio is presently 32.59%.

About Hilltop

Hilltop Holdings Inc is a Dallas-based financial services holding company that provides banking, mortgage lending and securities services through its operating subsidiaries. Its businesses serve individuals, businesses, financial institutions, government entities and other organizations.

PlainsCapital Bank, Hilltop’s banking subsidiary, offers commercial and consumer banking products, including loans, deposit accounts, treasury management and wealth management services. The bank primarily serves customers in Texas through its branch network and related financial services operations.

Hilltop’s other principal businesses include PrimeLending, a residential mortgage lender that originates and services home loans through a nationwide platform, and HilltopSecurities, a broker-dealer that provides investment banking, public finance, institutional brokerage, fixed-income trading and advisory services.