Hilltop Lags Est., Modest YoY Growth - Analyst Blog
August 08 2012 - 8:45AM
Zacks
On Monday, Hilltop Holdings Inc. (HTH) filed
its 10-Q to report results for the quarter ending June 30, 2012.
For the second-quarter 2012, the company’s net loss attributable to
common stockholders came in at $10.7 million or 19 cent per share,
down from $13.2 million or 23 cents per share in the year-ago
period. Earnings per share also lagged the Zacks Consensus Estimate
of a loss of 18 cents by a penny.
Results reflected higher premiums and investment income along
with improved net realized gains that drove the top line, while
limited total expense aided the improvement in combined ratio.
However, this growth was substantially offset by
higher-than-expected underwriting expenses, which in turn resulted
in operating cash outflow and underwriting loss during the reported
quarter.
During the reported quarter, Hilltop’s total revenue was $41.3
million, escalating 13.2% from $36.5 million in the year-ago
quarter, although it fell shy of the Zacks Consensus Estimate of
$42.0 million. The year-over-year upswing was primarily
attributable to an 11.0% increase in net premiums earned of $36.2
million and net investment income soaring 45.5% to $3.2 million.
Other income improved 7.6% year over year to $1.85 million, while
net realized investment gains jumped 41.7% over prior-year quarter
to $0.17 million.
Meanwhile, total expenses grew 3.5% year over year to $357.2
million, primarily due to a 10.3% increase in policy acquisition
and other underwriting expenses and higher general and
administration expenses. These were partially offset by a 4.9% dip
in loss and loss adjustment expenses (LAE) and reduced depreciation
and amortization expenses along with slightly lower interest
expenses.
In addition, lower LAE and operating expenses helped Hilltop’s
combined ratio to improve to 141.8% in the reported quarter from
160.4% in the year-ago quarter. Excluding catastrophic events,
combined ratios for the second quarters of 2012 and 2011 would have
been 106.7% and 114.6%, respectively.
Financial Update
As on June 30, 2012, Hilltop had cash and cash equivalents of
$576.4 million (down from $578.5 million as on December 31, 2011)
and investments worth $215.9 million (compared with $224.2 million
at the end of 2011).
Total shareholder’s equity stood at $638.7 million at the end of
the reported quarter, down from $655.4 million at 2011-end. Total
assets also inched down to $922.1 million at the end of the
reported quarter from $925.4 at 2011-end, while total liabilities
increased to $283.4 million from $270.0 million at the end of
2011.
Furthermore, as of June 30, 2012, operating cash outflow stood
at $1.57 million against inflow of $0.89 million at the end of
year-ago quarter. At June 2012-end, Hilltop had a deposit in
custody for various investments in State Insurance Departments with
carrying values of $9.4 million. No shares were repurchased during
the reported quarter.
Business Update
On May 9, 2012, Hilltop announced its plan to purchase
U.S.-based financial services company PlainsCapital Corp. for about
$536.9 million. While the deal awaits the approval from the board
of both the companies, the transaction is expected to culminate by
the end of this year. Accordingly, total cash of $318 million along
with 27.5 million Hilltop shares will be disbursed to PlainsCapital
upon successful completion of the buyout. Additionally, each share
of PlainsCapital will be valued at a cash of $9 and 0.776 shares of
Hilltop. Based on Hilltop's closing price of $7.96 on May 8, 2012,
the total value stands at $15.18 per PlainsCapital share, thereby
summing up to $536.9 million.
Headquartered in Dallas, U.S., PlainsCapital operates through
its subsidiaries PlainsCapital Bank, PrimeLending, and
FirstSouthwest. All of these will be acquired by Hilltop as per the
purchase agreement. PlainsCapital operates in 40 locations with
over 3,400 employees. Consequently, the company will become one of
the subsidiaries of Hilltop.
Our Take
While Hilltop remains sufficiently liquid, we believe management
will probably deploy the excess capital for acquiring other
insurance businesses, as evident from the proposedPlainsCapital
acquisition. The company’s expanded distribution is also driving
growth of existing insurance products and should further improve
the top line. However, the company’s future performance will be
dependent to a great extent upon the prudent deployment of its
reserves, even as the sole dependence on subsidiary NLASCO
continues to restrict its long-term growth. Additionally, higher
expenses and continued economic volatility continue to mar
fundamental growth.
Overall, we believe that Hilltop should continue to tread ahead
with its strategic approach in order to reduce expenses and
capitalize on the opportunities that the markets provide on
stabilization. The company should also be able to strengthen its
competitive position amid arch-rivals such as PennyMac
Mortgage Investment Trust (PMT) and Granite Re
Inc. (GRP), once the markets rebound to improve pricing
and reverse the cyclical declines.
Hence, given the long-term growth potential, we maintain a
long-term Neutral recommendation on the stock, although current
volatility warrants a Zacks Rank #4, which also implies a
short-term Sell rating.
GRANITE RE INC (GRP): Free Stock Analysis Report
HILLTOP HLDGS (HTH): Free Stock Analysis Report
PENNYMAC MORTGE (PMT): Free Stock Analysis Report
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