Hilltop (NYSE:HTH) Releases Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Estimates By $0.14 EPS

Hilltop (NYSE:HTH - Get Free Report) posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday. The financial services provider reported $0.42 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.28 by $0.14, Briefing.com reports. Hilltop had a return on equity of 5.20% and a net margin of 7.00%. The business had revenue of $285.24 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $274.55 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.40 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up .4% on a year-over-year basis.

Hilltop Stock Up 3.3 %

HTH traded up $0.95 during trading on Friday, reaching $30.00. 605,305 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 311,891. The company's 50-day moving average is $30.54 and its two-hundred day moving average is $30.95. The company has a market cap of $1.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.75 and a beta of 1.12. Hilltop has a 12-month low of $26.78 and a 12-month high of $35.66.

Hilltop Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 24th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.17 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 9th. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.27%. Hilltop's payout ratio is 40.24%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Hill A. Feinberg sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $31.63, for a total transaction of $94,890.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 13,776 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $435,734.88. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Hilltop news, CEO Martin Bradley Winges sold 30,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.83, for a total value of $924,900.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 98,934 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,050,135.22. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Hill A. Feinberg sold 3,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $31.63, for a total value of $94,890.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 13,776 shares in the company, valued at approximately $435,734.88. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 28.90% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Hilltop

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of HTH. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Hilltop by 71.6% in the 1st quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 58,807 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,729,000 after acquiring an additional 24,537 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can raised its holdings in shares of Hilltop by 3.2% in the 1st quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 17,046 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $520,000 after acquiring an additional 526 shares in the last quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Hilltop by 57.0% in the 1st quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 34,727 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,021,000 after acquiring an additional 12,608 shares in the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers raised its holdings in shares of Hilltop by 0.9% during the 1st quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 176,100 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $5,177,000 after buying an additional 1,610 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS raised its holdings in shares of Hilltop by 14.1% during the 1st quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS now owns 52,418 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,541,000 after buying an additional 6,465 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.13% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

HTH has been the subject of several research reports. TheStreet downgraded Hilltop from a "b-" rating to a "c+" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 13th. Raymond James upgraded Hilltop from an "underperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research note on Friday, January 5th.

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.