Hilltop (NYSE:HTH) Stock Breaks Above 200-Day Moving Average - Here's Why

Key Points

• Hilltop shares crossed above their 200-day moving average, reaching $38.20 and last trading near $37.85, signaling improved technical momentum.
• Analyst sentiment remains cautious: the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a $42.00 consensus price target, while recent ratings included downgrades from Zacks Research and Raymond James.
• Hilltop reported quarterly earnings of $0.44 per share, missing estimates of $0.64, alongside revenue below forecasts. The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.22, equivalent to an annualized yield of about 2.3%.

Hilltop Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HTH - Get Free Report) crossed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Monday. The stock has a 200-day moving average of $37.70 and traded as high as $38.20. Hilltop shares last traded at $37.8510, with a volume of 326,851 shares.

Analyst Ratings Changes

HTH has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Piper Sandler reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $42.00 price target on shares of Hilltop in a research report on Tuesday, July 28th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on Hilltop from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Zacks Research lowered shares of Hilltop from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 7th. Raymond James Financial cut shares of Hilltop from a "market perform" rating to an "underperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, October 6th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Hilltop from a "buy (b)" rating to a "buy (b+)" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $42.00.

Hilltop Price Performance

The stock has a market cap of $2.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.77 and a beta of 0.89. The business's 50 day moving average is $37.77 and its 200 day moving average is $37.70.

Hilltop (NYSE:HTH - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 22nd. The financial services provider reported $0.44 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.64 by ($0.20). The business had revenue of $309.51 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Hilltop Holdings Inc. will post 2.49 earnings per share for the current year.

Hilltop Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 6th will be issued a $0.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 6th. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.3%. Hilltop's dividend payout ratio is presently 36.67%.

Insider Activity at Hilltop

In other news, Director Rhodes Bobbitt sold 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.50, for a total transaction of $395,000.00. Following the sale, the director owned 45,641 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,802,819.50. This trade represents a 17.97% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In the last quarter, insiders sold 20,455 shares of company stock valued at $801,314. Corporate insiders own 5.40% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Hilltop

Several 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 during the second quarter worth about $33,000. Signaturefd LLC boosted its position in shares of Hilltop by 276.4% in the 2nd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,370 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $53,000 after purchasing an additional 1,006 shares during the period. C M Bidwell & Associates Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Hilltop in the 2nd quarter valued at about $62,000. Allworth Financial LP acquired a new stake in shares of Hilltop in the 2nd quarter valued at about $65,000. Finally, Nisa Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in Hilltop by 36.6% during the 3rd quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,127 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $80,000 after buying an additional 570 shares during the last quarter. 57.13% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Hilltop

Hilltop Holdings Inc NYSE: HTH is a Dallas-based financial services holding company. Through its operating subsidiaries, the company provides commercial and consumer banking, mortgage lending, and securities brokerage and investment-banking services.

PlainsCapital Bank is Hilltop's banking subsidiary and serves businesses, professionals, and individuals primarily in Texas. Its offerings include commercial and real estate lending, deposit accounts, treasury management, wealth management, and other banking services.

Hilltop also operates PrimeLending, a residential mortgage lender that originates home loans through a network of loan officers and offices across the United States.

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