Hilltop (NYSE:HTH) Rating Lowered to "Sell" at Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen downgraded Hilltop (NYSE:HTH) from a "hold" to a "sell," while the sell-side consensus remains a "Hold" with a $37.50 price target.
• In the latest quarter Hilltop reported $0.69 EPS (beating estimates by $0.23) but missed on revenue at $217.4M versus a ~$300M estimate, signaling earnings resilience despite top-line weakness.
• Significant insider selling occurred recently—about 294,796 shares (~$11.2M) sold in the past three months, including sales by senior executives, though insiders still own 29.9% of the company.

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

HTH has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on shares of Hilltop from $34.00 to $39.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Zacks Research lowered shares of Hilltop from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Hilltop in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $37.50.

Hilltop Trading Down 0.1%

NYSE:HTH opened at $35.91 on Friday. Hilltop has a 1-year low of $27.35 and a 1-year high of $40.41. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.55 and a beta of 0.92. The business's 50-day moving average price is $37.11 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $35.03.

Hilltop (NYSE:HTH - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $0.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.46 by $0.23. The company had revenue of $217.40 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $300.15 million. Hilltop had a return on equity of 7.47% and a net margin of 10.19%.During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.55 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Hilltop will post 1.51 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Martin Bradley Winges sold 26,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.46, for a total value of $999,960.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 65,831 shares in the company, valued at $2,531,860.26. This represents a 28.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Steve B. Thompson sold 9,025 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.84, for a total transaction of $359,556.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 91,817 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,657,989.28. This represents a 8.95% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last three months, insiders have sold 294,796 shares of company stock worth $11,225,619. Company insiders own 29.90% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Hilltop

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Strategic Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Hilltop in the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of 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 in the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP boosted its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 313 shares during the period. Danske Bank A S bought a new position in shares of Hilltop during the third quarter worth about $43,000. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Hilltop by 42.7% during the third quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,334 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $45,000 after buying an additional 399 shares in the last quarter. 57.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Hilltop Company Profile

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.

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