Hilltop (NYSE:HTH) Announces Earnings Results, Beats Estimates By $0.14 EPS

Hilltop (NYSE:HTH) announced its earnings results on Thursday. The financial services provider reported $0.42 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.28 by $0.14, Briefing.com reports. Hilltop had a net margin of 7.00% and a return on equity of 5.20%. The firm had revenue of $285.24 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $274.55 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.40 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up .4% on a year-over-year basis.

Hilltop Stock Up 1.5 %

Shares of HTH opened at $29.07 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $30.56 and its 200 day moving average price is $30.94. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.20 and a beta of 1.12. Hilltop has a 12-month low of $26.78 and a 12-month high of $35.66.

Hilltop Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 28th. Investors of record on Monday, February 12th were given a dividend of $0.17 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 9th. This is an increase from Hilltop’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.16. This represents a $0.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.34%. Hilltop’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 40.24%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Hill A. Feinberg sold 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $31.63, for a total transaction of $94,890.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 13,776 shares in the company, valued at $435,734.88. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, Director Hill A. Feinberg sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $31.63, for a total value of $94,890.00. Following the sale, the director now directly 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 available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Martin Bradley Winges sold 30,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.83, for a total value of $924,900.00. Following the transaction, 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. Corporate insiders own 28.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Hilltop

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its position in Hilltop by 3.4% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 37,101 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,307,000 after buying an additional 1,217 shares in the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio boosted its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 45,517 shares in the last quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV grew its position in Hilltop by 5.3% during the 4th quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 49,197 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,732,000 after acquiring an additional 2,497 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC increased its holdings in Hilltop by 31.7% during the 4th quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 112,629 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,967,000 after purchasing an additional 27,109 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position 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 valued at $184,486,000 after purchasing an additional 105,716 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.13% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

HTH has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. TheStreet lowered Hilltop from a “b-” rating to a “c+” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 13th. Raymond James raised Hilltop from an “underperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 5th.

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.