Hilltop (NYSE:HTH) Issues Earnings Results

Hilltop (NYSE:HTH) posted its earnings results on Thursday. The financial services provider reported $0.55 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.28 by $0.27, Zacks reports. Hilltop had a net margin of 6.65% and a return on equity of 4.90%.

Hilltop Stock Performance

NYSE:HTH opened at $30.13 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.48 and a beta of 1.15. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $29.75 and a 200 day moving average of $31.21. Hilltop has a 52-week low of $26.67 and a 52-week high of $35.32.

Hilltop Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 27th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 13th will be given a $0.18 dividend. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.39%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 13th. This is an increase from Hilltop’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.17. Hilltop’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 39.08%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on HTH shares. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Hilltop from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on Hilltop from $34.00 to $35.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Raymond James cut Hilltop from a “market perform” rating to an “underperform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and three have issued a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $34.50.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hilltop

In other Hilltop news, CAO Keith E. Bornemann sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.00, for a total transaction of $80,000.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 9,124 shares in the company, valued at $291,968. This trade represents a 21.51 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 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 owns 77,748 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,535,362.28. The trade was a 28.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 29.30% of the company’s stock.

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.