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

Raymond James upgraded shares of Hilltop (NYSE:HTH - Free Report) from an underperform rating to a market perform rating in a report released on Wednesday, MarketBeat.com reports.

Separately, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their target price on Hilltop from $35.00 to $34.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 3rd.

Hilltop Stock Down 2.4 %

NYSE:HTH traded down $0.68 on Wednesday, hitting $27.91. The stock had a trading volume of 180,285 shares, compared to its average volume of 331,582. Hilltop has a 52-week low of $26.67 and a 52-week high of $35.32. The stock has a market cap of $1.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.96 and a beta of 1.00. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $31.00 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $30.83.

Hilltop (NYSE:HTH - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The financial services provider reported $0.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.28 by $0.27. Hilltop had a net margin of 7.04% and a return on equity of 5.18%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Hilltop will post 1.51 EPS for the current year.

Hilltop Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 27th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 13th were paid a $0.18 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 13th. This is a boost from Hilltop's previous quarterly dividend of $0.17. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.58%. Hilltop's dividend payout ratio is 41.38%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Intech Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Hilltop in the third quarter worth about $314,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Hilltop by 2.6% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 794,060 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $25,537,000 after purchasing an additional 19,936 shares during the period. Quantbot Technologies LP purchased a new stake in Hilltop during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $185,000. FMR LLC grew its holdings in Hilltop by 36.7% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,296 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $106,000 after buying an additional 885 shares in the last quarter. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its position in shares of Hilltop by 74.5% during the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 17,069 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $549,000 after buying an additional 7,287 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 57.13% of the company's stock.

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.