Hilltop (NYSE:HTH) Upgraded at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Hilltop (NYSE:HTH) from a strong sell rating to a sell rating in a report released on Sunday morning,Wall Street Zen reports.

A number of other equities research analysts have also issued reports on the stock. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Hilltop from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b+)” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 21st. Piper Sandler reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $42.00 target price on shares of Hilltop in a report on Tuesday, July 28th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on shares of Hilltop from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Raymond James Financial lowered shares of Hilltop from a “market perform” rating to an “underperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 6th. Finally, Zacks Research cut shares of Hilltop from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $42.00.

Hilltop Stock Down 1.4%

NYSE HTH opened at $37.29 on Friday. Hilltop has a twelve month low of $32.17 and a twelve month high of $40.41. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $37.74 and a 200-day moving average price of $37.71. The firm has a market cap of $2.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.76 and a beta of 0.88.

Hilltop (NYSE:HTH) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 22nd. The financial services provider reported $0.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.64 by ($0.20). Hilltop had a net margin of 9.08% and a return on equity of 6.51%. The business had revenue of $309.51 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $320.37 million. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.74 EPS. Research analysts expect that Hilltop will post 2.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hilltop Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 20th. Investors of record on Friday, November 6th will be given a $0.22 dividend. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 6th. Hilltop’s payout ratio is currently 36.67%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Rhodes Bobbitt sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.50, for a total transaction of $395,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 45,641 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,802,819.50. This represents a 17.97% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders sold 20,000 shares of company stock worth $783,000 over the last three months. 5.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Hilltop

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of HTH. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA raised its stake in Hilltop by 17.4% during the third quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 6,166 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $232,000 after purchasing an additional 915 shares in the last quarter. Canton Hathaway LLC lifted its position in Hilltop by 23.1% during the third quarter. Canton Hathaway LLC now owns 9,060 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $341,000 after purchasing an additional 1,700 shares during the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Hilltop by 36.6% in the 3rd quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,127 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $80,000 after buying an additional 570 shares in the last quarter. Counterpoint Mutual Funds LLC purchased a new position in shares of Hilltop in the 3rd quarter worth $267,000. Finally, Ellsworth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Hilltop in the 3rd quarter worth $1,075,000. 57.13% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Hilltop

Hilltop Holdings Inc (NYSE: HTH) is a Dallas-based financial services holding company. Through its operating subsidiaries, the company provides commercial and consumer banking, mortgage lending, and securities brokerage and investment-banking services.

PlainsCapital Bank is Hilltop’s banking subsidiary and serves businesses, professionals, and individuals primarily in Texas. Its offerings include commercial and real estate lending, deposit accounts, treasury management, wealth management, and other banking services.

Hilltop also operates PrimeLending, a residential mortgage lender that originates home loans through a network of loan officers and offices across the United States.