Hilltop (NYSE:HTH) Upgraded by Raymond James to “Market Perform” Rating

Raymond James upgraded shares of Hilltop (NYSE:HTH) from an underperform rating to a market perform rating in a research note released on Wednesday, Marketbeat reports.

Separately, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price target on Hilltop from $35.00 to $34.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 3rd.

Hilltop Stock Up 0.8 %

HTH opened at $30.60 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $31.01 and its 200-day moving average price is $30.90. The company has a market cap of $1.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.59 and a beta of 1.14. Hilltop has a 52-week low of $26.67 and a 52-week high of $35.32.

Hilltop (NYSE:HTH) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The financial services provider reported $0.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.28 by $0.27. Hilltop had a net margin of 7.04% and a return on equity of 5.18%. On average, research analysts anticipate that Hilltop will post 1.51 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hilltop Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 27th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 13th were paid a dividend of $0.18 per share. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.35%. This is a boost from Hilltop’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.17. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 13th. Hilltop’s payout ratio is presently 41.38%.

Institutional Trading of Hilltop

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in HTH. Sunbelt Securities Inc. purchased a new stake in Hilltop in the third quarter valued at $29,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Hilltop in the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Sterling Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Hilltop by 827.3% in the fourth quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 1,493 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $43,000 after buying an additional 1,332 shares during the last quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Hilltop in the third quarter worth about $49,000. Finally, KBC Group NV grew its holdings in Hilltop by 64.0% during the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,621 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $75,000 after acquiring an additional 1,023 shares during the period. 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.