Hilltop Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HTH) Receives Average Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from Brokerages

Hilltop Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HTH) has received a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" from five research firms. Analysts have given three hold ratings, one buy, and one strong buy, with an average target price of $34.00. The stock recently traded down 1.7% to $33.31. Hilltop reported $0.74 EPS for the last quarter, exceeding estimates, and declared a quarterly dividend of $0.18. Insider trading activity includes a purchase by Chairman Jonathan S. Sobel and a sale by CEO Steve B. Thompson. Institutional investors have also increased their stakes in the company.

Hilltop Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HTH - Get Free Report) has been assigned a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" from the five research firms that are covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12 month target price among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $34.00.

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Weiss Ratings reissued a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Hilltop in a research report on Saturday. Stephens lifted their price objective on shares of Hilltop from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday. Zacks Research raised shares of Hilltop from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 16th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Hilltop from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, July 26th.

Read Our Latest Research Report on Hilltop

Hilltop Stock Down 1.7%

Shares of HTH stock traded down $0.59 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $33.31. 52,148 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 402,420. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $33.73 and its 200 day simple moving average is $31.39. The stock has a market cap of $2.10 billion, a PE ratio of 13.28 and a beta of 0.87. Hilltop has a 12 month low of $26.67 and a 12 month high of $36.13.

Hilltop (NYSE:HTH - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.49 by $0.25. Hilltop had a net margin of 9.86% and a return on equity of 7.18%. The firm had revenue of $330.20 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $309.68 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.46 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Hilltop will post 1.51 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hilltop Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 7th will be paid a $0.18 dividend. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 7th. Hilltop's payout ratio is currently 28.69%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hilltop

In other Hilltop news, Chairman Jonathan S. Sobel bought 10,000 shares of Hilltop stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 27th. The shares were bought at an average price of $35.36 per share, with a total value of $353,600.00. Following the acquisition, the chairman owned 127,429 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,505,889.44. This trade represents a 8.52% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Steve B. Thompson sold 11,687 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $31.09, for a total transaction of $363,348.83. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 109,638 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,408,645.42. This represents a 9.63% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have purchased 60,000 shares of company stock worth $2,022,800. 29.90% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Hilltop

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Millennium Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Hilltop by 236.4% in the 1st quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 461,206 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $14,044,000 after purchasing an additional 324,108 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its position in shares of Hilltop by 364.0% in the 2nd quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 360,551 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $10,943,000 after purchasing an additional 282,852 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Hilltop by 32.0% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 796,277 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $24,247,000 after purchasing an additional 192,991 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Hilltop by 211.0% in the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 247,725 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $7,518,000 after acquiring an additional 168,071 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Hilltop by 38.6% in the 1st quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 546,882 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $16,653,000 after acquiring an additional 152,358 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.13% of the company's stock.

Hilltop Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

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.

Should You Invest $1,000 in Hilltop Right Now?

Before you consider Hilltop, you'll want to hear this.

MarketBeat keeps track of Wall Street's top-rated and best performing research analysts and the stocks they recommend to their clients on a daily basis. MarketBeat has identified the five stocks that top analysts are quietly whispering to their clients to buy now before the broader market catches on... and Hilltop wasn't on the list.

While Hilltop currently has a Moderate Buy rating among analysts, top-rated analysts believe these five stocks are better buys.

View The Five Stocks Here