Hilltop Holdings reports Q4 EPS 44c, consensus 40c

Q4 net interest margin decreased to 2.96% vs. 3.02% in Q3. CEO Jeremy Ford said, “2023 presented a challenging operating environment for Hilltop. Despite the turmoil created by bank failures in 1Q23, the prudent management of operations at our lines of business and sound stewardship of our balance sheet allowed us to continue to support our clients with exceptional service and end a volatile year with strong capital and liquidity. At PlainsCapital Bank, we delivered profitable results in the face of steep competition for deposits and muted loan demand from borrowers. PrimeLending continued to experience a difficult mortgage market as tight inventories and elevated mortgage rates challenged affordability for consumers and production volume. HilltopSecurities offset down markets for our Public Finance and Fixed Income business lines by generating exceptional results from our Structured Finance and Wealth Management platforms. The results at the broker-dealer reflect the value in our diversified offerings at HilltopSecurities. As we move into 2024, we will continue to proactively manage costs in this tight operating environment and focus on our conservative, long-term strategy to further build on Hilltop’s franchise value.”