Analysts Set Hilltop Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HTH) Target Price at $37.50

Shares of Hilltop Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HTH) have earned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the five analysts that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12 month target price among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $37.50.

Several analysts recently weighed in on HTH shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on Hilltop from $34.00 to $39.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Hilltop in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Zacks Research raised Hilltop from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 16th. Finally, Stephens raised 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.

Hilltop Trading Down 0.1%

Shares of NYSE:HTH opened at $39.80 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $2.44 billion, a PE ratio of 15.02 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $35.49 and a 200 day simple moving average of $33.90. Hilltop has a 12-month low of $27.35 and a 12-month high of $40.39.

Hilltop (NYSE:HTH) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $0.69 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.46 by $0.23. The company had revenue of $217.40 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $300.15 million. Hilltop had a net margin of 10.19% and a return on equity of 7.47%. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.55 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Hilltop will post 1.51 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hilltop Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 13th will be given a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 13th. This is an increase from Hilltop’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.18. Hilltop’s payout ratio is 27.17%.

Insider Activity

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

Institutional Trading of Hilltop

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in HTH. Millennium Management LLC grew its stake in Hilltop by 236.4% during the 1st quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 461,206 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $14,044,000 after buying an additional 324,108 shares during the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its holdings in shares of Hilltop by 364.0% during the second quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 360,551 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $10,943,000 after acquiring an additional 282,852 shares during the period. Two Sigma Investments LP boosted its holdings in shares of Hilltop by 106.9% during the third quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 493,802 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $16,503,000 after acquiring an additional 255,141 shares during the period. Freestone Grove Partners LP bought a new position in shares of Hilltop during the third quarter worth about $8,337,000. Finally, Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Hilltop by 37.5% in the 3rd quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 711,802 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $23,788,000 after acquiring an additional 194,287 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 57.13% of the company’s stock.

Hilltop Company Profile

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.