Hilltop (NYSE:HTH) Hits New 12-Month Low – Should You Sell?

Hilltop Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HTH)’s stock price hit a new 52-week low during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $27.78 and last traded at $28.00, with a volume of 16286 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $28.11.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have commented on HTH shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on Hilltop from $34.00 to $35.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Raymond James lowered shares of Hilltop from a “market perform” rating to an “underperform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Hilltop from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and three have assigned a hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Hilltop currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $34.50.

Hilltop Price Performance

The company has a market cap of $1.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.07 and a beta of 1.15. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $30.91 and its 200-day moving average price is $31.47.

Hilltop (NYSE:HTH) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The financial services provider reported $0.46 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.37 by $0.09. Hilltop had a return on equity of 4.90% and a net margin of 6.65%. The company had revenue of $411.49 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $302.29 million. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.57 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Hilltop Holdings Inc. will post 1.48 earnings per share for the current year.

Hilltop Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 22nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 8th were given a $0.17 dividend. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.44%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 8th. Hilltop’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 41.72%.

Insider Transactions at Hilltop

In other news, CAO Keith E. Bornemann sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.00, for a total value of $80,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 9,124 shares in the company, valued at approximately $291,968. The trade was a 21.51 % decrease in their position. The sale 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 the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.61, for a total value of $1,006,051.11. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 77,748 shares in the company, valued at $2,535,362.28. This trade represents a 28.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 29.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Hilltop

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of HTH. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its stake in Hilltop by 187.9% during the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 511,286 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $16,443,000 after acquiring an additional 333,695 shares during the period. Verition Fund Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Hilltop by 419.7% in the 3rd quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 383,692 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $12,340,000 after purchasing an additional 309,858 shares during the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its position in Hilltop by 90.5% during the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 592,138 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $19,043,000 after purchasing an additional 281,230 shares during the period. State Street Corp increased its position in Hilltop by 4.4% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,568,227 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $82,594,000 after buying an additional 107,348 shares during the period. Finally, Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Hilltop by 27.2% in the third quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC now owns 382,430 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $12,299,000 after buying an additional 81,780 shares during the last quarter. 57.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Hilltop Company Profile

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.