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

Hilltop Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HTH) has received an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the five brokerages that are covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, one has given a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price target among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $37.50.

Several equities analysts have recently commented on HTH shares. Wall Street Zen lowered Hilltop from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 21st. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Hilltop in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Hilltop from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 16th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on shares of Hilltop from $34.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 3rd.

Hilltop Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:HTH opened at $38.07 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $36.81 and its 200-day simple moving average is $34.86. Hilltop has a one year low of $27.35 and a one year high of $40.41. The firm has a market cap of $2.26 billion, a PE ratio of 14.37 and a beta of 0.92.

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

Hilltop Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 13th were issued a dividend of $0.20 per share. This is an increase from Hilltop’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.18. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 13th. Hilltop’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 30.19%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hilltop

In related news, CEO Steve B. Thompson sold 9,025 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.84, for a total transaction of $359,556.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 91,817 shares in the company, valued at $3,657,989.28. This represents a 8.95% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Martin Bradley Winges sold 26,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 owned 65,831 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,531,860.26. This represents a 28.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders own 29.90% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Hilltop

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of HTH. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Hilltop by 0.8% during the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 870,474 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $26,419,000 after purchasing an additional 7,302 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its position in Hilltop by 32.0% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 796,277 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $24,247,000 after buying an additional 192,991 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC raised its stake in Hilltop by 3.7% in the third quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 762,326 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $25,477,000 after buying an additional 27,203 shares during the last quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Hilltop by 37.5% in the third 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 in the last quarter. Finally, UBS Group AG grew its stake in shares of Hilltop by 42.3% during the third quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 647,003 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $21,623,000 after acquiring an additional 192,439 shares during the last quarter. 57.13% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.