The framework has shifted from accumulation to markdown since the last review. Price is trending lower. Sellers are in control and the prior trend has reversed. Price has moved down 0.5% since our last review. Ethical screening: FAIL. This security does not pass our values-based screening criteria. The risk-adjusted return profile shows good risk-adjusted returns. Our composite framework grades it C, carrying a low risk profile. Technically it is holding around 8% above its long-term trend line with momentum reading neutral. Over the past year the shares are up 25%. Our forward projection puts the odds of a 10% gain over the next month near 17%. The street (3 analysts) rates it none, with a mean price target of $40.
Hilltop Holdings Inc.
HTH · the NYSE · USD · Market cap $2.2B · 3,520 employees
Hilltop Holdings Inc.
FAIL · Does not pass the screenAt the last full screen
2026-09-07
Screened 2026-09-07 · the tape above runs as of 22:12 UTC · 11 Sep · two dates, stated on purpose · verdict and workings shown in full · never trimmed
This name holds its markdown label.
Hilltop Holdings Inc. holds its Markdown at $39.24. The statistical read favours the sellers, held for 386 days.
| Phase | Markdown · caution |
| Quantitative state | The statistical read favours the sellers, held for 386 days |
| Price at the screen | $39.24 |
| Valuation | 14.59 trailing · 15.76 forward price to earnings |
| Values screen | FAIL · score 30.0 |
| Beta | 0.87 |
Five Screens, Shown in Full
Does not pass. Prohibited keyword in sector/industry: financial services
| Test | Figure | Limit | What it means | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Business activity | Excluded | Core business clean | Prohibited keyword in sector/industry: financial services | Fail |
| Debt load | Excluded | Below 33% | Interest-bearing debt is of its assets, above the one-third ceiling the screen allows. | Fail |
| Interest-bearing cash | Excluded | Below 33% | Interest-bearing cash and securities are of assets, above the one-third limit. | Fail |
| Receivables | Excluded | Below 49% | Money owed to the company is of assets, above the 49% limit. | Fail |
| Revenue purity | Excluded | Below 5% | of revenue comes from non-compliant sources, over the 5% line. | Fail |
Five checks adapted from AAOIFI screening standards: business activity plus four balance-sheet ratios. All five must pass for ethical clearance. Every figure is arithmetic on public accounts, not judgement.
What the Numbers Say It Is WorthThe Fair Value Range
Fair value range in USD, drawn from the 2026-09-07 screen. The gold marker is the market price at the same screen. The price runs 9.6% above the base estimate.
Reading the gap · Our more conservative model reads it as fully-to-richly valued here, while the Street is more bullish: a quality-at-a-fair-price name rather than a deep-value one.
Price History & ProjectionsWhere it has been, where the models see it going. History from market close data; projection points are our fair-value estimates and third-party analyst targets, dated to the 2026-09-07 screen.
Fair value and rating are our own model estimates; the Street's range reflects third-party analyst estimates. Analysis, not advice.
The Business, in Plain WordsBanks with mixed segments rarely clear basic ethical screens
Picture a regional lender pulling in deposits one day and originating mortgages the next while running a broker dealer on the side. Hilltop Holdings sits in exactly that spot yet fails our ethical screen outright because the entire financial services sector is off limits. The valuation adds no comfort either with the shares trading at 38.68 against a fair value of 30.81 and revenue already shrinking 3 percent.
Forward earnings sit on a 16.1 times multiple while return on equity lingers at just 8 percent and profit margins reach only 13 percent. Three analysts call it a hold with a 40 dollar median target but none of those figures change the ethical outcome or the thin growth picture. We pass for the screen alone and the numbers give no reason to argue otherwise.
Interest rate swings and mortgage volumes remain the obvious external pressures yet the bigger issue is the permanent ethical block that stops any further work. Analysis, not advice.
| Forward P/E | 15.8xexpensive even after accounting for its growth |
| Trailing P/E | 14.6xreasonably valued |
| EPS, trailing | 2.69 |
| EPS, forward | 2.49 |
| Revenue growth | +5.2%slow but positive growth |
| Profit margin | 12.7%thin but positive margins |
| Return on equity | 7.6%a modest return on shareholder capital |
| Dividend yield | 198.00% |
| Beta | 0.87steadier than the market |
| Short interest, float | 0.06% |
| 52-week range | 30.78 - 40.41 |
| Market cap | $2.2B |
| Employees | 3,520 |
The risks · The main risks here are ordinary market swings and the chance our fair-value read proves too optimistic.
Plain-English interpretation of our own screen data. Analysis, not advice.
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Every Entry, As Written
The framework has shifted from markdown to accumulation since the last review. Smart money appears to be quietly building positions. This typically precedes a markup phase. Price has moved up 0.6% since our last review. Ethical screening: FAIL. This security does not pass our values-based screening criteria. The risk-adjusted return profile shows good risk-adjusted returns. Our composite framework grades it C, carrying a low risk profile. Technically it is holding around 8% above its long-term trend line with momentum reading neutral. Over the past year the shares are up 25%. Our forward projection puts the odds of a 10% gain over the next month near 17%. The street (3 analysts) rates it none, with a mean price target of $40.
The framework reads markdown. Price is trending lower. Sellers are in control and the prior trend has reversed. Price has moved down 0.0% since our last review. Ethical screening: FAIL. This security does not pass our values-based screening criteria. The risk-adjusted return profile shows good risk-adjusted returns. Our composite framework grades it C, carrying a low risk profile. Technically it is holding around 8% above its long-term trend line with momentum reading neutral. Over the past year the shares are up 25%. Our forward projection puts the odds of a 10% gain over the next month near 17%. The street (3 analysts) rates it none, with a mean price target of $40.
The framework reads markdown. Price is trending lower. Sellers are in control and the prior trend has reversed. Price has moved down 0.0% since our last review. Ethical screening: FAIL. This security does not pass our values-based screening criteria. The risk-adjusted return profile shows good risk-adjusted returns.
The framework reads markdown. Price is trending lower. Sellers are in control and the prior trend has reversed. Ethical screening: FAIL. This security does not pass our values-based screening criteria. The risk-adjusted return profile shows good risk-adjusted returns.
Each entry above was written on its date, before the outcome. A journal you can prune is not a journal.
Screened names in the same industry · explore each on its own page.
| Period | Price then | Price return | Divs per share | $1,000 became | Total return |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 month | $37.28 | +1.3% | · | $1,013 | +1.3% |
| 2 months | $37.45 | +0.9% | $0.20 | $1,014 | +1.4% |
| 3 months | $34.71 | +8.8% | $0.20 | $1,094 | +9.4% |
| 6 months | $34.61 | +9.1% | $0.40 | $1,103 | +10.3% |
| 1 year | $30.10 | +25.5% | $0.76 | $1,280 | +28.0% |
| 2 years | $28.60 | +32.1% | $1.46 | $1,372 | +37.2% |
| 3 years | $30.42 | +24.2% | $2.12 | $1,311 | +31.1% |
| 5 years | $33.48 | +12.8% | $3.28 | $1,226 | +22.6% |
Historical returns from market close data. Past performance does not guarantee future results.
This entry now belongs to the ledger. Whatever HTH does next, these words stay.
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