Hilltop (NYSE:HTH) Stock Passes Above 200-Day Moving Average – Here’s What Happened

Hilltop Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HTH) shares crossed above its two hundred day moving average during trading on Tuesday . The stock has a two hundred day moving average of $37.08 and traded as high as $38.49. Hilltop shares last traded at $38.2960, with a volume of 226,026 shares.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have weighed in on HTH. Zacks Research raised Hilltop from a “strong sell” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Hilltop from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 16th. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Hilltop from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has assigned a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $37.50.

Hilltop Price Performance

The business’s 50 day moving average is $37.85 and its 200-day moving average is $37.11. The company has a market cap of $2.31 billion, a PE ratio of 14.95 and a beta of 0.88.

Hilltop (NYSE:HTH) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.64 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.54 by $0.10. Hilltop had a net margin of 10.13% and a return on equity of 7.32%. The company had revenue of $300.51 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $304.87 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.65 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Hilltop Holdings Inc. will post 2.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hilltop Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 22nd. Investors of record on Friday, May 8th were paid a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 8th. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.0%. Hilltop’s payout ratio is presently 30.30%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hilltop

In other Hilltop news, Director Rhodes R. Bobbitt sold 10,000 shares of Hilltop stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.00, for a total transaction of $380,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 87,016 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,306,608. The trade was a 10.31% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CAO Keith E. Bornemann sold 2,000 shares of Hilltop stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.00, for a total value of $76,000.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 7,912 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $300,656. This trade represents a 20.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 32,000 shares of company stock worth $1,206,000 in the last three months. 5.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Strategic Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Hilltop during the fourth quarter worth approximately $33,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in Hilltop by 584.7% in the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,075 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 918 shares during the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP raised its holdings in Hilltop by 37.3% during the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,153 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 313 shares in the last quarter. Danske Bank A S acquired a new stake in Hilltop during the third quarter worth approximately $43,000. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Hilltop by 36.2% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,817 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $62,000 after buying an additional 483 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.13% of the company’s stock.

About Hilltop

Hilltop Holdings, Inc (NYSE: HTH) is a Dallas, Texas–based financial holding company offering commercial banking, mortgage lending and capital markets services through its three primary subsidiaries: PlainsCapital Corporation, PrimeLending and HilltopSecurities. PlainsCapital provides deposit, lending and treasury management solutions to small and mid-sized businesses, professionals and individuals. PrimeLending specializes in home purchase and refinance loans, serving retail, wholesale and correspondent channels.