Hilltop (NYSE:HTH) Trading Up 4% Following Earnings Beat

Hilltop Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HTH)’s share price rose 4% during mid-day trading on Friday following a better than expected earnings announcement. The company traded as high as $30.45 and last traded at $30.21. Approximately 56,994 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 81% from the average daily volume of 304,096 shares. The stock had previously closed at $29.05.

The financial services provider reported $0.42 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.28 by $0.14. The company had revenue of $285.24 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $274.55 million. Hilltop had a net margin of 7.00% and a return on equity of 5.20%. The company’s revenue was up .4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.40 earnings per share.

Hilltop Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 28th. Investors of record on Monday, February 12th were paid a dividend of $0.17 per share. This represents a $0.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.25%. This is an increase from Hilltop’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.16. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 9th. Hilltop’s payout ratio is 40.24%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on HTH shares. Raymond James upgraded shares of Hilltop from an “underperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, January 5th. TheStreet cut shares of Hilltop from a “b-” rating to a “c+” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 13th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Hilltop news, CEO Martin Bradley Winges sold 30,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $30.83, for a total transaction of $924,900.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 98,934 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,050,135.22. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, Director Hill A. Feinberg sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $31.63, for a total transaction of $94,890.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 13,776 shares in the company, valued at approximately $435,734.88. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Martin Bradley Winges sold 30,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.83, for a total transaction of $924,900.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 98,934 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,050,135.22. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 28.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Hilltop

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its stake in Hilltop by 9.8% in the 1st quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 11,742 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $368,000 after purchasing an additional 1,049 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Hilltop by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,239,587 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $184,486,000 after purchasing an additional 105,716 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its stake in Hilltop by 3.4% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 37,101 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,307,000 after purchasing an additional 1,217 shares in the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio raised its stake in Hilltop by 3,479.9% in the 4th quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 46,825 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,649,000 after purchasing an additional 45,517 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV increased its holdings in Hilltop by 5.3% in the 4th quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 49,197 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,732,000 after buying an additional 2,497 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.13% of the company’s stock.

Hilltop Stock Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $1.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.20 and a beta of 1.12. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $30.56 and its 200 day simple moving average is $30.94.

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.