Hilltop (NYSE:HTH) Hits New 12-Month Low – Here’s Why

Shares of Hilltop Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HTH) hit a new 52-week low on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $27.78 and last traded at $28.00, with a volume of 16286 shares. The stock had previously closed at $28.11.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently commented on the stock. StockNews.com raised shares of Hilltop from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on shares of Hilltop from $34.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Raymond James lowered shares of Hilltop from a “market perform” rating to an “underperform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and three have assigned a hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $34.50.

Hilltop Trading Down 0.9 %

The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $30.98 and its 200-day simple moving average is $31.48. The company has a market capitalization of $1.81 billion, a PE ratio of 17.09 and a beta of 1.15.

Hilltop (NYSE:HTH) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The financial services provider reported $0.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.37 by $0.09. Hilltop had a net margin of 6.65% and a return on equity of 4.90%. The firm had revenue of $411.49 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $302.29 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.57 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Hilltop Holdings Inc. will post 1.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hilltop Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 22nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 8th were paid a $0.17 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. This represents a $0.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.44%. Hilltop’s payout ratio is 41.72%.

Insider Activity at Hilltop

In related news, CAO Keith E. Bornemann sold 2,500 shares of Hilltop stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.00, for a total value of $80,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 9,124 shares in the company, valued at $291,968. The trade was a 21.51 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Martin Bradley Winges sold 30,851 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.61, for a total value of $1,006,051.11. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 77,748 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,535,362.28. The trade was a 28.41 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 29.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Hilltop

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Sunbelt Securities Inc. purchased a new stake in Hilltop in the 3rd quarter worth $29,000. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Hilltop during the third quarter worth about $49,000. FMR LLC increased its stake in shares of Hilltop by 36.7% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,296 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $106,000 after purchasing an additional 885 shares in the last quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP purchased a new position in Hilltop in the 3rd quarter valued at about $185,000. Finally, Beese Fulmer Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in Hilltop in the 3rd quarter valued at about $203,000. 57.13% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.