UPDATE: Sterne Agee Initiates Hilltop Holdings at Buy on Favorable Growth Positioning

Sterne Agee initiated coverage of Hilltop Holdings

with a Buy rating and a $15.25 price target. Sterne Agee said, "In our view, HTH is a unique story given positioning in growth markets of Texas, favorable exposure to mortgage banking and C&I lending via a pending acquisition, and management with a highly successful track record in banking. The bottom line is we believe the combination of the PlainsCapital business mix and Hilltop's management history of execution bodes well for returns superior to the bank industry." Hilltop Holdings closed at $12.78 on Monday.