Hilltop (NYSE:HTH) Releases Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.14 EPS

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

Hilltop Stock Up 3.6 %

HTH opened at $30.10 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $1.96 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. The business has a 50 day moving average of $30.56 and a 200-day moving average of $30.94.

Hilltop Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 12th were given a $0.17 dividend. This represents a $0.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.26%. This is a boost from Hilltop’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.16. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 9th. Hilltop’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 40.24%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently issued reports on HTH. Raymond James upgraded Hilltop from an “underperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, January 5th. TheStreet lowered Hilltop from a “b-” rating to a “c+” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 13th.

Insider Transactions at Hilltop

In other news, CEO Martin Bradley Winges sold 30,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.83, for a total transaction of $924,900.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 98,934 shares in the company, valued at $3,050,135.22. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other Hilltop news, Director Hill A. Feinberg sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the director now 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 through this hyperlink. Also, 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 98,934 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,050,135.22. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 28.90% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Hilltop

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its holdings in shares of Hilltop by 3.4% during the 4th 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 acquiring 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% during the 4th quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 46,825 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,649,000 after acquiring an additional 45,517 shares in the last quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV boosted its holdings in shares of 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 valued at $1,732,000 after acquiring an additional 2,497 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC boosted its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 27,109 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Hilltop by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,239,587 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $184,486,000 after acquiring an additional 105,716 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.13% of the company’s stock.

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.