Hilltop (NYSE:HTH) Raised to Sell at Wall Street Zen

Hilltop (NYSE:HTH) was upgraded by research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “strong sell” rating to a “sell” rating in a report released on Sunday, Wall Street Zen reports.

Several other equities analysts also recently commented on the company. Raymond James Financial downgraded Hilltop from a “market perform” rating to an “underperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 6th. Piper Sandler restated a “neutral” rating and set a $42.00 price target on shares of Hilltop in a report on Tuesday, July 28th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on Hilltop from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Zacks Research downgraded Hilltop from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 7th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Hilltop from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b+)” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Hilltop currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $42.00.

Hilltop Stock Performance

NYSE HTH opened at $37.85 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $37.77 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $37.70. The stock has a market cap of $2.15 billion, a PE ratio of 15.77 and a beta of 0.89. Hilltop has a fifty-two week low of $31.75 and a fifty-two week high of $40.41.

Hilltop (NYSE:HTH) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 22nd. The financial services provider reported $0.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.64 by ($0.20). The company had revenue of $309.51 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $320.37 million. Hilltop had a return on equity of 6.51% and a net margin of 9.08%. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.74 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Hilltop will post 2.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Rhodes Bobbitt sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.80, for a total transaction of $194,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 25,641 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $994,870.80. This trade represents a 16.32% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders sold 20,455 shares of company stock valued at $801,314 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 5.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Hilltop

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Canton Hathaway LLC raised its holdings in shares of Hilltop by 23.1% in the 3rd quarter. Canton Hathaway LLC now owns 9,060 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $341,000 after acquiring an additional 1,700 shares during the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in Hilltop by 36.6% in the 3rd quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,127 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $80,000 after acquiring an additional 570 shares in the last quarter. Counterpoint Mutual Funds LLC acquired a new position in Hilltop during the 3rd quarter valued at about $267,000. Ellsworth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Hilltop during the 3rd quarter worth $1,075,000. Finally, Fortitude Family Office LLC grew its holdings in shares of Hilltop by 4,411.1% in the third quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 3,248 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $122,000 after acquiring an additional 3,176 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 57.13% of the company’s stock.

Hilltop Company Profile

Hilltop Holdings Inc (NYSE: HTH) is a Dallas-based financial services holding company. Through its operating subsidiaries, the company provides commercial and consumer banking, mortgage lending, and securities brokerage and investment-banking services.

PlainsCapital Bank is Hilltop’s banking subsidiary and serves businesses, professionals, and individuals primarily in Texas. Its offerings include commercial and real estate lending, deposit accounts, treasury management, wealth management, and other banking services.

Hilltop also operates PrimeLending, a residential mortgage lender that originates home loans through a network of loan officers and offices across the United States.