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

Shares of Hilltop Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HTH) have earned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the five research firms that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, one has issued a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price objective among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $39.00.

A number of research analysts recently commented on HTH shares. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Hilltop from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, May 16th. Weiss Ratings cut Hilltop from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. Zacks Research upgraded Hilltop from a “strong sell” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Finally, Piper Sandler reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $42.00 price objective on shares of Hilltop in a research note on Tuesday.

Hilltop Trading Up 2.2%

Shares of HTH stock traded up $0.85 on Tuesday, reaching $39.36. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 3,713 shares, compared to its average volume of 338,189. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $38.08 and its 200-day simple moving average is $37.35. Hilltop has a 1 year low of $29.20 and a 1 year high of $40.41. The company has a market capitalization of $2.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.52 and a beta of 0.88.

Hilltop (NYSE:HTH) last released its quarterly earnings data 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. Hilltop had a net margin of 10.17% and a return on equity of 7.40%. The business had revenue of $315.81 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $306.18 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.57 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Hilltop will post 2.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Hilltop Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 21st. Investors of record on Friday, August 7th will be given a $0.22 dividend. This is a boost from Hilltop’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 7th. Hilltop’s dividend payout ratio is 29.63%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hilltop

In other Hilltop news, CAO Keith E. Bornemann sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.00, for a total transaction of $76,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 7,912 shares in the company, valued at $300,656. The trade was a 20.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Rhodes R. Bobbitt sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.00, for a total transaction of $380,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 87,016 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,306,608. This trade represents a 10.31% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 32,000 shares of company stock valued at $1,206,000 over the last ninety days. 5.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Hilltop

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Hilltop by 22.6% during the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,566 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $53,000 after buying an additional 289 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its position in Hilltop by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 15,919 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $540,000 after acquiring an additional 304 shares during the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP increased its stake in Hilltop by 37.3% in the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,153 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 313 shares during the period. MQS Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Hilltop by 2.2% during the first quarter. MQS Management LLC now owns 16,453 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $589,000 after purchasing an additional 353 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co boosted its stake in shares of Hilltop by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 37,559 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,275,000 after purchasing an additional 368 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 57.13% of the company’s stock.

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.