Hilltop (NYSE:HTH) Now Covered by StockNews.com

StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of Hilltop (NYSE:HTH – Get Rating) in a report issued on Thursday morning. The firm issued a hold rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

Hilltop Stock Down 5.2 %

Shares of HTH stock opened at $29.01 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $1.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.91 and a beta of 1.07. Hilltop has a 52 week low of $24.18 and a 52 week high of $34.87. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $32.15 and a 200-day moving average of $29.40.

Hilltop (NYSE:HTH – Get Rating) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 27th. The financial services provider reported $0.39 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.26 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $349.76 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $301.53 million. Hilltop had a net margin of 7.95% and a return on equity of 5.22%. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.78 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Hilltop will post 1.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Hilltop Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 24th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 10th were given a dividend of $0.16 per share. This is an increase from Hilltop’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 9th. This represents a $0.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.21%. Hilltop’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 39.51%.

Insider Transactions at Hilltop

In related news, Director Hill A. Feinberg sold 9,001 shares of Hilltop stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.39, for a total value of $291,542.39. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 600,135 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,438,372.65. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, CEO Jerry Schaffner sold 40,000 shares of Hilltop stock in a transaction on Friday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.33, for a total value of $1,333,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 136,763 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,558,310.79. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Hill A. Feinberg sold 9,001 shares of Hilltop stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.39, for a total transaction of $291,542.39. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 600,135 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,438,372.65. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 22.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Hilltop

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of HTH. Quadrant Capital Group LLC boosted its holdings in Hilltop by 1,330.3% during the 3rd quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 1,416 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 1,317 shares during the last quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. purchased a new position in Hilltop during the 4th quarter worth $56,000. Royal Bank of Canada boosted its holdings in Hilltop by 29.5% during the 3rd quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 2,482 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $62,000 after acquiring an additional 565 shares during the last quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors boosted its holdings in Hilltop by 16.7% during the 2nd quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 3,192 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $85,000 after acquiring an additional 456 shares during the last quarter. Finally, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Hilltop by 44.8% during the 4th quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 3,155 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $95,000 after acquiring an additional 976 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.46% of the company’s stock.

Hilltop Company Profile

(Get Rating)

Hilltop Holdings, Inc engages in the provision of business and consumer banking services. It operates through the following segments: Banking, Broker-Dealer and Mortgage Origination. The Banking segment includes business banking, personal banking, wealth and investment management. The Broker-Dealer segment includes the following lines of business: public finance, capital markets, retail, structured finance, clearing services and securities lending.