Hilltop (HTH) and The Competition Head to Head Survey

Hilltop (NYSE:HTH) is one of 919 publicly-traded companies in the “Banks” industry, but how does it weigh in compared to its peers? We will compare Hilltop to similar companies based on the strength of its valuation, profitability, dividends, analyst recommendations, earnings, institutional ownership and risk.

Profitability

This table compares Hilltop and its peers’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Hilltop	9.08%	6.51%	0.88%
Hilltop Competitors	15.65%	9.43%	0.93%

Volatility and Risk

Hilltop has a beta of 0.88, indicating that its stock price is 12% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Hilltop’s peers have a beta of 0.61, indicating that their average stock price is 39% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

57.1% of Hilltop shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 47.8% of shares of all “Banks” companies are owned by institutional investors. 5.4% of Hilltop shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 9.7% of shares of all “Banks” companies are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Dividends

Hilltop pays an annual dividend of $0.88 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.4%. Hilltop pays out 36.7% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. As a group, “Banks” companies pay a dividend yield of 8.9% and pay out 28.9% of their earnings in the form of a dividend. Hilltop has raised its dividend for 8 consecutive years. Hilltop lags its peers as a dividend stock, given its lower dividend yield and higher payout ratio.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current recommendations for Hilltop and its peers, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Hilltop	1	3	1	0	2.00
Hilltop Competitors	7490	30232	27818	1480	2.35

Hilltop currently has a consensus target price of $42.00, indicating a potential upside of 13.34%. As a group, “Banks” companies have a potential upside of 14.23%. Given Hilltop’s peers stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Hilltop has less favorable growth aspects than its peers.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Hilltop and its peers top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Net Income	Price/Earnings Ratio
Hilltop	$1.63 billion	$165.59 million	15.44
Hilltop Competitors	$9.95 billion	$2.42 billion	21.49

Hilltop’s peers have higher revenue and earnings than Hilltop. Hilltop is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than its peers, indicating that it is currently more affordable than other companies in its industry.

Summary

Hilltop peers beat Hilltop on 13 of the 15 factors compared.

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. It also provides treasury management, asset management, check cards, safe deposit boxes, online banking, bill pay, and overdraft privilege services; and estate planning, management and administration, investment portfolio management, employee benefit accounts, and individual retirement accounts services, as well as automated teller machines. The Broker-Dealer segment offers public finance services that assist public entities in originating, syndicating, and distributing securities of municipalities and political subdivisions; specialized advisory and investment banking services; advice and guidance to arbitrage rebate compliance, portfolio management, and local government investment pool administration; advisory services and products for derivatives and commodities; agricultural insurance; and sells, trades in, and underwrites U.S. government and government agency bonds, corporate bonds, and municipal bonds; mortgage-backed, asset-backed, and commercial mortgage-backed securities and structured products; and provides asset and liability management advisory, clearing, retail, and securities lending services. The Mortgage Origination segment offers fixed and adjustable rate mortgages, jumbo, new construction, Federal Housing Administration, Veterans Affairs, and United States Department of Agriculture loans. Hilltop Holdings Inc. was incorporated in 1998 and is based in Dallas, Texas.