StockNews.com Upgrades Hilltop (NYSE:HTH) to “Hold”

Hilltop (NYSE:HTH) was upgraded by StockNews.com from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued to investors on Thursday.

HTH has been the topic of a number of other reports. Stephens lifted their price target on Hilltop from $33.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on Hilltop from $33.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, Hilltop currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $34.50.

Hilltop Trading Up 1.4 %

Shares of Hilltop stock opened at $31.28 on Thursday. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $31.68 and its 200 day simple moving average is $31.22. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.29 and a beta of 1.13. Hilltop has a 12 month low of $26.78 and a 12 month high of $35.66.

Hilltop (NYSE:HTH) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The financial services provider reported $0.31 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.26 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $297.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $283.22 million. Hilltop had a return on equity of 5.30% and a net margin of 7.10%. Hilltop’s quarterly revenue was down 3.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.28 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Hilltop will post 1.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Hill A. Feinberg sold 17,157 shares of Hilltop stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.99, for a total value of $566,009.43. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 544,979 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,978,857.21. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 28.90% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Hilltop

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in HTH. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Hilltop by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,239,587 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $184,486,000 after buying an additional 105,716 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its position in Hilltop by 9.8% during the first quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 11,742 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $368,000 after buying an additional 1,049 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its position in Hilltop by 72.6% during the first quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 23,349 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $731,000 after buying an additional 9,824 shares in the last quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp grew its position in Hilltop by 1.3% during the first quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp now owns 40,485 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,268,000 after buying an additional 514 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Duality Advisers LP bought a new stake in Hilltop during the first quarter worth about $275,000. 57.13% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Hilltop Company Profile

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.