Hilltop (NYSE:HTH) Shares Gap Up Following Better-Than-Expected Earnings

Hilltop Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HTH)’s stock price gapped up prior to trading on Friday after the company announced better than expected quarterly earnings. The stock had previously closed at $29.80, but opened at $32.00. Hilltop shares last traded at $31.32, with a volume of 29,880 shares traded.

The financial services provider reported $0.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.28 by $0.27. Hilltop had a net margin of 6.65% and a return on equity of 4.90%.

Hilltop Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 27th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 13th will be paid a $0.18 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 13th. This is an increase from Hilltop’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.17. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.39%. Hilltop’s dividend payout ratio is 41.72%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Insider Activity at Hilltop

In other news, CAO Keith E. Bornemann sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.00, for a total transaction of $80,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 9,124 shares in the company, valued at approximately $291,968. This represents a 21.51 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Martin Bradley Winges sold 30,851 shares of Hilltop stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.61, for a total transaction 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 29.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Sunbelt Securities Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Hilltop in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Hilltop in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Hilltop during the third quarter valued at approximately $49,000. KBC Group NV grew its holdings in shares of Hilltop by 64.0% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,621 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $75,000 after purchasing an additional 1,023 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC increased its stake in shares of Hilltop by 36.7% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,296 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $106,000 after buying an additional 885 shares during the period. 57.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Hilltop Trading Up 1.1 %

The stock’s fifty day moving average is $29.75 and its 200 day moving average is $31.19. The company has a market capitalization of $1.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.48 and a beta of 1.15.

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.