Hilltop (NYSE:HTH) Raised to Hold at Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Hilltop Holdings Inc was upgraded from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating by Wall Street Zen, indicating a shift in analyst sentiment towards the company.
• Institutional investors have significantly increased their holdings in Hilltop, with notable increases from firms such as Ameriprise Financial and Millennium Management.
• Hilltop reported earnings of $0.57 per share, exceeding analyst expectations of $0.41, reflecting a strong performance despite revenue slightly falling below estimates.

Hilltop (NYSE:HTH - Get Free Report) was upgraded by equities research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report issued on Saturday.

Several other research analysts also recently weighed in on HTH. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their target price on Hilltop from $34.00 to $32.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Raymond James Financial upgraded Hilltop from an "underperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd.

Hilltop Trading Down 0.2%

Shares of NYSE:HTH opened at $30.54 on Friday. Hilltop has a 12-month low of $26.67 and a 12-month high of $35.00. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $30.36 and its 200-day simple moving average is $30.17. The company has a market capitalization of $1.96 billion, a PE ratio of 13.70 and a beta of 0.87.

Hilltop (NYSE:HTH - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The financial services provider reported $0.57 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.41 by $0.16. Hilltop had a return on equity of 6.47% and a net margin of 8.90%. The firm had revenue of $303.31 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $310.18 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.31 EPS. Research analysts predict that Hilltop will post 1.51 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Hilltop

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in HTH. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its position in Hilltop by 85.4% during the 4th quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 797,987 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $22,846,000 after acquiring an additional 367,564 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Hilltop by 236.4% in the 1st quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 461,206 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $14,044,000 after buying an additional 324,108 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Hilltop by 32.0% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 796,277 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $24,247,000 after buying an additional 192,991 shares during the period. Nuveen Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Hilltop by 116.0% in the 4th quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 322,583 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $9,236,000 after buying an additional 173,245 shares during the period. Finally, Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Hilltop by 38.6% in the 1st quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 546,882 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $16,653,000 after buying an additional 152,358 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.

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