StockNews.com Begins Coverage on Hilltop (NYSE:HTH)

StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of Hilltop (NYSE:HTH – Get Rating) in a research note published on Thursday morning. The firm issued a hold rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

Hilltop Stock Down 5.2 %

Shares of Hilltop stock opened at $29.01 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $1.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.91 and a beta of 1.07. Hilltop has a 12-month low of $24.18 and a 12-month high of $34.87. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $32.15 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $29.40.

Hilltop (NYSE:HTH – Get Rating) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 27th. The financial services provider reported $0.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.26 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $349.76 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $301.53 million. Hilltop had a net margin of 7.95% and a return on equity of 5.22%. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.78 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Hilltop will post 1.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Hilltop Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 24th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 10th were paid a dividend of $0.16 per share. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.21%. This is an increase from Hilltop’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 9th. Hilltop’s dividend payout ratio is presently 39.51%.

Insider Transactions at Hilltop

In other news, CEO Jerry Schaffner sold 40,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.33, for a total value of $1,333,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 136,763 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,558,310.79. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, Director Hill A. Feinberg sold 9,001 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.39, for a total value of $291,542.39. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 600,135 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,438,372.65. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Jerry Schaffner sold 40,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.33, for a total transaction of $1,333,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 136,763 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,558,310.79. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 22.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in HTH. Quadrant Capital Group LLC raised its holdings in Hilltop by 1,330.3% in the 3rd quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 1,416 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 1,317 shares during the last quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. bought a new position in Hilltop in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $56,000. Royal Bank of Canada raised its holdings in Hilltop by 29.5% in the 3rd quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 2,482 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $62,000 after buying an additional 565 shares during the last quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors raised its holdings in Hilltop by 16.7% in the 2nd quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 3,192 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $85,000 after buying an additional 456 shares during the last quarter. Finally, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its holdings in Hilltop by 44.8% in the 4th quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 3,155 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $95,000 after buying an additional 976 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.46% of the company’s stock.

Hilltop Company Profile

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Hilltop Holdings, Inc engages in the provision of business and consumer banking services. It operates through the following segments: Banking, Broker-Dealer and Mortgage Origination. The Banking segment includes business banking, personal banking, wealth and investment management. The Broker-Dealer segment includes the following lines of business: public finance, capital markets, retail, structured finance, clearing services and securities lending.