Hilltop (NYSE:HTH) Reaches New 52-Week Low – Here’s What Happened

Hilltop Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HTH) shares reached a new 52-week low on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $27.78 and last traded at $28.00, with a volume of 16286 shares. The stock had previously closed at $28.11.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

HTH has been the topic of several recent research reports. Raymond James lowered Hilltop from a “market perform” rating to an “underperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. StockNews.com upgraded Hilltop from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on Hilltop from $34.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and three have issued a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Hilltop presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $34.50.

Hilltop Stock Performance

The stock has a market cap of $1.81 billion, a PE ratio of 17.09 and a beta of 1.15. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $30.98 and its 200 day moving average price is $31.48.

Hilltop (NYSE:HTH) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The financial services provider reported $0.46 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.37 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $411.49 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $302.29 million. Hilltop had a return on equity of 4.90% and a net margin of 6.65%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.57 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Hilltop Holdings Inc. will post 1.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hilltop Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 22nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 8th were paid a dividend of $0.17 per share. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.44%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 8th. Hilltop’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 41.72%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hilltop

In related news, CEO Martin Bradley Winges sold 30,851 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.61, for a total transaction of $1,006,051.11. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 77,748 shares in the company, valued at $2,535,362.28. This trade represents a 28.41 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CAO Keith E. Bornemann sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.00, for a total transaction of $80,000.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 9,124 shares in the company, valued at $291,968. This trade represents a 21.51 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 29.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Sunbelt Securities Inc. purchased a new position in Hilltop in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. purchased a new position in Hilltop in the third quarter valued at $49,000. FMR LLC grew its stake in Hilltop by 36.7% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,296 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $106,000 after purchasing an additional 885 shares in the last quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP purchased a new stake in Hilltop during the 3rd quarter worth about $185,000. Finally, Beese Fulmer Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Hilltop during the 3rd quarter worth about $203,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.13% of the company’s stock.

About Hilltop

Hilltop Holdings Inc provides business and consumer banking services. It operates through three segments: Banking, Broker-Dealer, and Mortgage Origination. The Banking segment offers savings, checking, interest-bearing checking, and money market accounts; certificates of deposit; lines and letters of credit, home improvement and equity loans, loans for purchasing and carrying securities, term, agricultural and commercial real estate, equipment loans, and other lending products; and mortgage, commercial and industrial loans, and term and construction finance.