What is Zacks Research’s Estimate for Hilltop Q1 Earnings?

Hilltop Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HTH) – Zacks Research raised their Q1 2026 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for shares of Hilltop in a research note issued on Thursday, February 19th. Zacks Research analyst Team now anticipates that the financial services provider will post earnings of $0.43 per share for the quarter, up from their previous estimate of $0.38. Zacks Research has a “Strong-Buy” rating on the stock. The consensus estimate for Hilltop’s current full-year earnings is $1.51 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Hilltop’s Q2 2026 earnings at $0.37 EPS, FY2026 earnings at $1.89 EPS, Q2 2027 earnings at $0.46 EPS, FY2027 earnings at $2.25 EPS and FY2028 earnings at $2.45 EPS.

A number of other brokerages have also recently commented on HTH. Stephens lifted their price objective on Hilltop from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 27th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Hilltop in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on Hilltop from $34.00 to $39.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 3rd. One equities research 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. According to MarketBeat.com, Hilltop has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $37.50.

Hilltop Stock Performance

HTH opened at $38.43 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $36.27 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $34.42. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.28 billion, a PE ratio of 14.50 and a beta of 0.94. Hilltop has a 52 week low of $27.35 and a 52 week high of $40.41.

Hilltop (NYSE:HTH) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $0.69 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $217.40 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $300.15 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.55 EPS.

Hilltop Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 13th will be issued a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.1%. This is a boost from Hilltop’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.18. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 13th. Hilltop’s dividend payout ratio is currently 30.19%.

Insider Transactions at Hilltop

In related news, CAO Keith E. Bornemann sold 2,200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.00, for a total transaction of $77,000.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 8,692 shares in the company, valued at $304,220. This trade represents a 20.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Martin Bradley Winges sold 26,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.46, for a total transaction of $999,960.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 65,831 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,531,860.26. The trade was a 28.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 37,225 shares of company stock valued at $1,436,516 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 29.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Hilltop

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Lexington Hill Partners LLC bought a new stake in Hilltop in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $354,000. Corient Private Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Hilltop in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $304,000. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV lifted its position in shares of Hilltop by 5.3% in the fourth quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 97,482 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,309,000 after purchasing an additional 4,924 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its holdings in Hilltop by 5.1% during the fourth quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 250,228 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $8,493,000 after purchasing an additional 12,100 shares during the last quarter. Finally, XTX Topco Ltd acquired a new position in Hilltop during the fourth quarter worth $2,660,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.