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

Shares of Hilltop Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HTH) were up 4% on Friday following a stronger than expected earnings report. The stock 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 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.28 by $0.14. The company had revenue of $285.24 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $274.55 million. Hilltop had a return on equity of 5.20% and a net margin of 7.00%. Hilltop’s revenue for the quarter was up .4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.40 earnings per share.

Hilltop Increases Dividend

The company 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 9th. This is a positive change from Hilltop’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.16. This represents a $0.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.25%. Hilltop’s dividend payout ratio is presently 40.24%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on HTH shares. 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 note on Friday, January 5th.

Insider Transactions at Hilltop

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

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in HTH. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC lifted its holdings in shares of Hilltop by 200.0% in the 1st quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 1,524 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $45,000 after buying an additional 1,016 shares during the period. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Hilltop by 31.5% in the 1st quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,888 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $56,000 after buying an additional 452 shares during the period. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its holdings in shares of 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 period. Captrust Financial Advisors lifted its holdings in shares of 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 period. Finally, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Hilltop by 23.5% in the 2nd quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 2,733 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $86,000 after buying an additional 520 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.13% of the company’s stock.

Hilltop Trading Up 3.8 %

The firm has a market cap of $1.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.20 and a beta of 1.12. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $30.56 and a 200-day moving average price of $30.94.

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.