Hilltop (NYSE:HTH) Stock Rating Lowered by Raymond James

Hilltop (NYSE:HTH - Get Free Report) was downgraded by research analysts at Raymond James from a "market perform" rating to an "underperform" rating in a research note issued to investors on Thursday, Marketbeat reports.

Other analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on Hilltop from $34.00 to $35.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Hilltop from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and three have given a hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $34.50.

Hilltop Price Performance

Shares of Hilltop stock traded down $0.60 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $28.84. The company's stock had a trading volume of 565,609 shares, compared to its average volume of 314,745. Hilltop has a 12 month low of $28.58 and a 12 month high of $35.66. The company has a market capitalization of $1.87 billion, a PE ratio of 17.69 and a beta of 1.13. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $31.65 and a 200 day moving average of $31.57.

Hilltop (NYSE:HTH - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The financial services provider reported $0.46 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.37 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $411.49 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $302.29 million. Hilltop had a return on equity of 4.90% and a net margin of 6.65%. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.57 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Hilltop will post 1.48 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Hilltop news, CEO Martin Bradley Winges sold 30,851 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.61, for a total transaction of $1,006,051.11. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 77,748 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,535,362.28. This trade represents a 28.41 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CAO Keith E. Bornemann sold 2,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.00, for a total value of $80,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 9,124 shares in the company, valued at $291,968. This represents a 21.51 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 29.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of HTH. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its holdings in shares of Hilltop by 187.9% during the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 511,286 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $16,443,000 after purchasing an additional 333,695 shares during the period. Verition Fund Management LLC increased its position in Hilltop by 419.7% in the 3rd quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 383,692 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $12,340,000 after buying an additional 309,858 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its stake in Hilltop by 90.5% during the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 592,138 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $19,043,000 after buying an additional 281,230 shares during the period. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in Hilltop by 4.4% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,568,227 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $82,594,000 after acquiring an additional 107,348 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Hilltop by 27.2% in the third quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC now owns 382,430 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $12,299,000 after acquiring an additional 81,780 shares during the period. 57.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Hilltop Company Profile

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.