Hilltop (NYSE:HTH) Downgraded by StockNews.com

Hilltop (NYSE:HTH) was downgraded by research analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday.

Other analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on shares of Hilltop from $33.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Stephens increased their price objective on shares of Hilltop from $33.00 to $34.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and three have assigned a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Hilltop presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $34.50.

Hilltop Price Performance

Shares of HTH traded down $0.11 on Wednesday, reaching $31.49. 428,353 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 308,738. The firm has a market cap of $2.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.41 and a beta of 1.13. Hilltop has a 12 month low of $26.78 and a 12 month high of $35.66. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $32.02 and its 200-day moving average price is $31.19.

Hilltop (NYSE:HTH) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 25th. The financial services provider reported $0.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.26 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $297.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $283.22 million. Hilltop had a return on equity of 5.30% and a net margin of 7.10%. The business’s revenue was down 3.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.28 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Hilltop will post 1.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hilltop

In other news, Director Hill A. Feinberg sold 17,157 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.99, for a total transaction of $566,009.43. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 544,979 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,978,857.21. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 28.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Hilltop

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Hilltop in the second quarter valued at $28,000. Innealta Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Hilltop in the second quarter valued at $69,000. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its stake in Hilltop by 91.1% in the first quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 8,186 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $256,000 after acquiring an additional 3,902 shares during the last quarter. Duality Advisers LP acquired a new stake in Hilltop in the first quarter valued at $275,000. Finally, ProShare Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Hilltop by 7.4% in the first quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 9,407 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $295,000 after acquiring an additional 647 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors 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.