Piper Sandler Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Hilltop (NYSE:HTH) Stock Price

Key Points

• Piper Sandler cut Hilltop’s price target from $42 to $36 and maintained a neutral rating, implying about 1.7% downside from the prior close.
• Analyst views are mixed, but the consensus rating is “Hold” with a $39 average price target; one analyst rates the stock Buy, three Hold, and one Sell.
• Hilltop reported quarterly EPS of $0.44, below the $0.64 consensus estimate, and revenue of $309.5 million versus expectations of $320.4 million.

Hilltop (NYSE:HTH - Get Free Report) had its price target decreased by equities researchers at Piper Sandler from $42.00 to $36.00 in a research report issued on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a "neutral" rating on the financial services provider's stock. Piper Sandler's price objective would indicate a potential downside of 1.70% from the stock's previous close.

Other equities research analysts have also issued reports about the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on shares of Hilltop from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Raymond James Financial lowered shares of Hilltop from a "market perform" rating to an "underperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, October 6th. Weiss Ratings downgraded Hilltop from a "buy (b+)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 4th. Zacks Research downgraded Hilltop from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 7th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Hilltop from a "strong sell" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Sunday, November 1st. One equities research 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, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $39.00.

Hilltop Stock Down 0.8%

Shares of NYSE:HTH opened at $36.62 on Wednesday. Hilltop has a 52-week low of $32.17 and a 52-week high of $40.41. The company has a 50 day moving average of $37.60 and a two-hundred day moving average of $37.74. The company has a market capitalization of $2.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.41 and a beta of 0.88.

Hilltop (NYSE:HTH - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 22nd. The financial services provider reported $0.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.64 by ($0.20). The firm had revenue of $309.51 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $320.37 million. Hilltop had a net margin of 9.08% and a return on equity of 6.51%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.74 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Hilltop will post 2.49 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Rhodes Bobbitt sold 10,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.50, for a total value of $395,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 45,641 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,802,819.50. The trade was a 17.97% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 20,000 shares of company stock worth $783,000. 5.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Hilltop

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of HTH. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in Hilltop during the second quarter valued at approximately $256,179,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new position in shares of Hilltop in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $13,091,000. Empowered Funds LLC acquired a new position in shares of Hilltop in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $10,357,000. Freestone Grove Partners LP acquired a new position in shares of Hilltop in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $9,573,000. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE increased its holdings in shares of Hilltop by 159.3% in the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 211,095 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $7,561,000 after acquiring an additional 129,683 shares during the last quarter. 57.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Hilltop Company Profile

Hilltop Holdings Inc. is a Dallas-based financial holding company with businesses in banking, mortgage lending and securities. Its operations primarily serve customers in Texas and other U.S. markets. Through PlainsCapital Bank, Hilltop provides commercial and consumer banking services, including deposit accounts, loans and treasury management. PrimeLending originates residential mortgages, while HilltopSecurities offers investment banking, municipal finance, brokerage and wealth management services.

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