Hilltop (NYSE:HTH) Price Target Raised to $39.00

Hilltop (NYSE:HTH) had its price target raised by Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $34.00 to $39.00 in a research note released on Tuesday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have a market perform rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

HTH has been the topic of several other reports. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Hilltop in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Stephens upped their target price on Hilltop from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 27th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded Hilltop from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has given a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Hilltop currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $37.50.

Hilltop Price Performance

NYSE HTH opened at $39.91 on Tuesday. Hilltop has a 12 month low of $27.35 and a 12 month high of $40.39. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $35.38 and its 200 day simple moving average is $33.81. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.45 billion, a PE ratio of 15.06 and a beta of 0.94.

Hilltop (NYSE:HTH) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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. Hilltop had a net margin of 10.19% and a return on equity of 7.47%. The firm had revenue of $217.40 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $300.15 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.55 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Hilltop will post 1.51 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hilltop Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 27th. Investors of record on Friday, February 13th will be paid a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 13th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.0%. This is a positive change from Hilltop’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.18. Hilltop’s payout ratio is presently 27.17%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hilltop

In other news, CEO Martin Bradley Winges sold 26,000 shares of Hilltop stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.46, for a total value of $999,960.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 65,831 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,531,860.26. The trade was a 28.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CAO Keith E. Bornemann sold 2,200 shares of the business’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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $304,220. This represents a 20.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 29.90% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of Hilltop in the 2nd quarter valued at $363,000. CWM LLC boosted its stake in Hilltop by 404.7% during the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 14,188 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $431,000 after acquiring an additional 11,377 shares in the last quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new stake in Hilltop in the third quarter worth $1,064,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its stake in Hilltop by 364.0% in 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 purchasing an additional 282,852 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC bought a new stake in Hilltop in the second quarter valued at $640,000. 57.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.