Hilltop (NYSE:HTH) Posts Earnings Results, Beats Estimates By $0.10 EPS

Hilltop (NYSE:HTH) issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday. The financial services provider reported $0.64 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.54 by $0.10, Zacks reports. Hilltop had a return on equity of 7.47% and a net margin of 10.19%.

Hilltop Stock Up 1.3%

NYSE HTH traded up $0.47 during trading on Thursday, hitting $38.03. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 450,483 shares, compared to its average volume of 371,924. Hilltop has a 52 week low of $28.43 and a 52 week high of $40.41. The firm has a market cap of $2.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.35 and a beta of 0.92. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $36.87 and a 200 day moving average price of $35.36.

Hilltop Increases Dividend

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

Insider Activity

In other news, 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 sale, the insider owned 7,867 shares in the company, valued at approximately $298,788.66. This trade represents a 97.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Steve B. Thompson sold 9,025 shares of the business’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 transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 91,817 shares in the company, valued at $3,657,989.28. This trade represents a 8.95% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last three months, insiders sold 294,796 shares of company stock valued at $11,225,619. 29.90% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in HTH. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co raised its position in shares of Hilltop by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 37,559 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,275,000 after buying an additional 368 shares during the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its position in Hilltop by 36.2% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,817 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $62,000 after buying an additional 483 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in Hilltop by 3.2% during the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 26,780 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $895,000 after acquiring an additional 840 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased 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 valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 918 shares during the period. Finally, Danske Bank A S acquired a new position in Hilltop in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $43,000. Institutional investors own 57.13% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

HTH has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on Hilltop from $34.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Hilltop in a research report on Tuesday. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Hilltop from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, April 4th. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded shares of Hilltop from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $37.50.

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.