Keefe, Bruyette & Woods Has Lowered Expectations for Hilltop (NYSE:HTH) Stock Price

Hilltop (NYSE:HTH) had its price objective reduced by Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $35.00 to $34.00 in a report released on Monday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “market perform” rating on the financial services provider’s stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods’ price objective indicates a potential upside of 9.98% from the company’s previous close.

Several other analysts have also recently issued reports on HTH. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Hilltop from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Raymond James lowered Hilltop from a “market perform” rating to an “underperform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and three have issued a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Hilltop currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $34.00.

Hilltop Trading Up 2.9 %

NYSE:HTH opened at $30.92 on Monday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $29.67 and a 200 day moving average price of $31.11. Hilltop has a 12-month low of $26.67 and a 12-month high of $35.32. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.77 and a beta of 1.14.

Hilltop (NYSE:HTH) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The financial services provider reported $0.55 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.28 by $0.27. Hilltop had a return on equity of 5.18% and a net margin of 7.04%. On average, research analysts predict that Hilltop will post 1.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hilltop

In related news, CEO Martin Bradley Winges sold 30,851 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 77,748 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,535,362.28. The trade was a 28.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CAO Keith E. Bornemann sold 2,500 shares of the 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 transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 9,124 shares in the company, valued at approximately $291,968. This trade represents a 21.51 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 29.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Hilltop

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in HTH. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its position in shares of Hilltop by 3.6% in the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 26,416 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $826,000 after purchasing an additional 913 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its holdings in Hilltop by 101.3% during the third quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 27,846 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $896,000 after buying an additional 14,015 shares during the period. Inspire Investing LLC lifted its holdings in Hilltop by 12.9% during the third quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 12,786 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $411,000 after buying an additional 1,462 shares during the period. Beese Fulmer Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in Hilltop during the 3rd quarter valued at $203,000. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its holdings in shares of Hilltop by 187.9% in the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 511,286 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $16,443,000 after acquiring an additional 333,695 shares during the period. 57.13% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.