Hilltop (NYSE:HTH) Raised to “Hold” at Wall Street Zen

Hilltop (NYSE:HTH) was upgraded by stock analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report released on Saturday.

A number of other analysts also recently issued reports on HTH. Zacks Research downgraded Hilltop from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 4th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on shares of Hilltop from $34.00 to $39.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Hilltop in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $37.50.

Hilltop Stock Down 0.4%

Shares of HTH opened at $34.74 on Friday. Hilltop has a 52-week low of $27.35 and a 52-week high of $40.41. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $37.11 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $34.99. The company has a market capitalization of $2.07 billion, a PE ratio of 13.11 and a beta of 0.92.

Hilltop (NYSE:HTH) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $0.69 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.46 by $0.23. The firm had revenue of $217.40 million for 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 quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.55 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Hilltop will post 1.51 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Martin Bradley Winges sold 26,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.46, for a total value of $999,960.00. Following 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Gerald J. Ford sold 259,771 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $37.98, for a total value of $9,866,102.58. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 7,867 shares in the company, valued at approximately $298,788.66. This represents a 97.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last three months, insiders have sold 294,796 shares of company stock worth $11,225,619. 29.90% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Strategic Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Hilltop in the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Hilltop by 584.7% during the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,075 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 918 shares during the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP lifted its stake in Hilltop by 37.3% during 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 last quarter. Danske Bank A S acquired a new position in Hilltop in the third quarter valued at approximately $43,000. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Hilltop by 42.7% in the third quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,334 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $45,000 after purchasing an additional 399 shares in the last quarter. 57.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.