Sifting through countless of stocks in the Banks industry can be tedious, and sometimes two stocks are just too similar to judge which is the better investment. If you’re on the fence about investing in Hilltop Holdings Inc., Stellar Bancorp or Inc. because you’re not sure how they measure up, it’s important to compare them on a few factors before making your decision.

Read on to learn how Hilltop Holdings Inc., Stellar Bancorp and Inc. compare based on key financial metrics to determine which better meets your investment needs.

About Hilltop Holdings Inc., Stellar Bancorp and Inc.

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 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 headquartered in Dallas, Texas.

Stellar Bancorp, Inc. operates as the bank holding company that provides a range of commercial banking products and services primarily to small and medium-sized businesses, professionals, and individual customers. It offers deposit products that include checking accounts, commercial accounts, money market accounts, savings accounts, and other time deposits, as well as convenient services, such as telephone, mobile, and online banking. The company also provides commercial and industrial loans; commercial real estate loans comprising multi-family residential loans; commercial real estate construction and land development loans; residential real estate loans comprising 1-4 family residential mortgage loans, including home equity and home improvement loans, and home equity lines of credit; commercial and retail lending services, such as loans to small businesses, mortgage loans, personal loans, and automobile loans; and factoring services. In addition, it offers safe deposit boxes, debit cards, cash management and wire transfer services, night depository services, direct deposits, cashier’s checks, and letters of credit. Stellar Bancorp, Inc. was founded in 2007 and is headquartered in Houston, Texas.

Latest Banks and Hilltop Holdings Inc., Stellar Bancorp, Inc. Stock News

As of February 11, 2026, Hilltop Holdings Inc. had a $2.3 billion market capitalization, compared to the Banks median of $562.5 million. Hilltop Holdings Inc.’s stock is up 15.2% in 2026, down 0.3% in the previous five trading days and up 22.33% in the past year.

Currently, Hilltop Holdings Inc.’s price-earnings ratio is 15.7. Hilltop Holdings Inc.’s trailing 12-month revenue is $1.3 billion with a 13.0% net profit margin. Year-over-year quarterly sales growth most recently was 8.4%. Analysts expect adjusted earnings to reach $2.007 per share for the current fiscal year. Hilltop Holdings Inc. currently has a 2.0% dividend yield.

As of February 11, 2026, Stellar Bancorp, Inc. had a $2.0 billion market cap, putting it in the 55th percentile of all stocks. Stellar Bancorp, Inc.’s stock is up 28.3% in 2026, up 2.7% in the previous five trading days and up 38.03% in the past year.

Currently, Stellar Bancorp, Inc.’s price-earnings ratio is 20.5. Stellar Bancorp, Inc.’s trailing 12-month revenue is $416.5 million with a 24.9% net profit margin. Year-over-year quarterly sales growth most recently was -7.5%. Analysts expect adjusted earnings to reach $2.177 per share for the current fiscal year. Stellar Bancorp, Inc. currently has a 1.5% dividend yield.

How We Compare Hilltop Holdings Inc., Stellar Bancorp and Inc. Stock Grades

Stock evaluation requires access to huge amounts of data and the knowledge and time to sift through it all, make sense of financial ratios, read income statements and analyze recent stock movements. AAII created A+ Investor, a robust data suite that condenses data research in an actionable and customizable way suitable for investors of all knowledge levels, to help investors streamline and work through such data.

AAII’s proprietary stock grades come with A+ Investor. These offer intuitive A‐F grades for each of five key investing factors: value, growth, momentum, earnings estimate revisions and quality. Here, we’ll take a closer look at Hilltop Holdings Inc., Stellar Bancorp and Inc.’s stock grades to see how they measure up against one another.

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Hilltop Holdings Inc., Stellar Bancorp and Inc. Stock Value Grades

Company	Ticker	Value
Hilltop Holdings Inc.	HTH	B
Stellar Bancorp, Inc.	STEL	C

Successful stock investing involves buying low and selling high, so stock valuation is an important consideration for stock selection.

Buying stocks that are going to go up typically means buying stocks that are undervalued in the first place, although momentum investors may argue that point.

AAII’s A+ Investor Value Grade derives from a stock’s value score. The Value Score is the percentile rank of the average of the percentile ranks of the price-to-sales ratio, price-earnings ratio, enterprise-value-to-EBITDA (EV/EBITDA) ratio, shareholder yield, price-to-book-value ratio and price-to-free-cash-flow ratio. The score is variable, meaning it can consider all six ratios or, should any of the six ratios not be valid, the remaining ratios that are valid. To be assigned a Value Score, stocks must have a valid (non-null) ratio and corresponding ranking for at least two of the six valuation ratios.

Stocks with a Value Score from 81 to 100 are considered deep value, those with a score between 61 and 80 are a good value and so on.

Hilltop Holdings Inc. has a Value Score of 75, which is Value. Stellar Bancorp, Inc. has a Value Score of 49, which is Average.

The Value Stock Winner: Hilltop Holdings Inc.

As you can clearly see from the Value Grade breakdown above, Hilltop Holdings Inc. is considered to have better value than Stellar Bancorp, Inc.. For investors who focus solely on a company’s valuation, Hilltop Holdings Inc. could be a good stock to add to their portfolio. However, it’s important for investors to analyze multiple factors based on a wide range of metrics before deciding whether to buy.

Hilltop Holdings Inc., Stellar Bancorp and Inc.’s Momentum Grades

Company	Ticker	Momentum
Hilltop Holdings Inc.	HTH	B
Stellar Bancorp, Inc.	STEL	B

Momentum grades help to uncover stocks experiencing anomalously high rates of return; research finds that stocks with high relative levels of momentum tend to outperform, whereas those with low levels of momentum tend to continue underperforming. Momentum is based on the price change of a stock over a specified period relative to all other stocks.

Typically, AAII looks at the weighted relative strength over the trailing four quarters. The weighted four-quarter relative strength rank is the relative price change for each of the past four quarters. The most recent quarterly price change is given a weight of 40% and each of the three previous quarters are given a weighting of 20%.

Hilltop Holdings Inc. has a Momentum Score of 61, which is Strong. Stellar Bancorp, Inc. has a Momentum Score of 75, which is Strong.

The Momentum Grade Winner: It’s a Tie!

Looking at the Momentum Grade breakdown above, both Hilltop Holdings Inc., Stellar Bancorp and Inc. have a grade of B. For those who focus solely on a company’s momentum, further research will need to be conducted into both companies to see if they fit your individual needs as an investor.

Hilltop Holdings Inc., Stellar Bancorp and Inc.’s Estimate Revisions Grades

Company	Ticker	Earnings Estimate
Hilltop Holdings Inc.	HTH	C
Stellar Bancorp, Inc.	STEL	B

Earnings estimate revisions scores consider the magnitude of a company’s earnings surprise in its last two reported fiscal quarters. Often, positive surprises beget further positive surprises‐or at least continued sales growth (the exact opposite is generally true, too).

Estimate revisions offer an indication of what analysts are thinking about the short-term prospects of a firm. Estimate revisions are based on the statistical significance of a firm’s last two quarterly earnings surprises and the percentage change in its consensus estimate for the current fiscal year over the past month and past three months.

Hilltop Holdings Inc. has a Earnings Estimate Score of 54, which is Neutral. Stellar Bancorp, Inc. has a Earnings Estimate Score of 62, which is Positive.

The Earnings Estimate Revisions Grade Winner: Stellar Bancorp, Inc.

As you can clearly see from the Earnings Estimate Revisions Grade breakdown above, Stellar Bancorp, Inc. has a better Earnings Estimate Revisions Grade than Hilltop Holdings Inc.. For those who are specifically looking for companies with better short-term prospects when compared to other companies in the same industry, Stellar Bancorp, Inc. could be a good stock to invest in. However, it’s important to analyze multiple factors based on a wide range of metrics before deciding whether to buy.

Other Hilltop Holdings Inc., Stellar Bancorp and Inc. Grades

In addition to Momentum, Value and Estimate Revisions, A+ Investor also provides grades for Growth and Quality.

Growth investing builds on the idea that stocks of companies exhibiting strong, consistent and prolonged growth outperform those of slower-growth companies. AAII measures growth through consistency of annual sales growth, five-year sales growth rankings adjusted for extreme levels, and consistency of positive annual cash from operations.

AAII’s A+ Investor Quality Grade comes from the ranking of key metrics. Specifically, the quality grade is the percentile rank of the composite of return on assets (ROA), return on invested capital (ROIC), gross profit relative to assets, buyback yield, change in total liabilities to assets, accruals, Z double prime bankruptcy risk (Z) score and F-Score.

These 2 key factors, when combined with the above, provide a holistic view into a particular stock. Further, by joining A+ Investor you can see whether Hilltop Holdings Inc., Stellar Bancorp and Inc. pass any of our 60+ stock screens that have outperformed the market since their creation.

So, Which Is the Better Investment, Hilltop Holdings Inc., Stellar Bancorp or Inc. Stock?

Overall, Hilltop Holdings Inc. stock has a Value Score of 75, Momentum Score of 61 and Estimate Revisions Score of 54.

Stellar Bancorp, Inc. stock has a Value Score of 49, Momentum Score of 75 and Estimate Revisions Score of 62.

Comparing Hilltop Holdings Inc., Stellar Bancorp and Inc.’s grades, scores and metrics can act as a solid basis to determine whether they may be a good investment or not. You’ll also want to look at your portfolio’s asset allocation as well as your risk tolerance and financial goals to see if either of these stocks would make a good fit for you. AAII can help you figure out which investments align with your individual needs and preferences.

Investors are encouraged to do their own due diligence and research. In this way, individuals can effectively become managers of their own assets‐without having to rely on others for financial independence. You can count on AAII for timeless articles on financial planning and stock-picking, unbiased research and actionable analysis.

A+ Investor adds to our qualitative teaching with a powerful data suite to help you whittle down investment choices to find stocks, exchange-traded funds (ETFs) or mutual funds that meet your needs.

AAII Disclaimer

We make no representations or warranties that any investor will, or is likely to, achieve profits similar to those shown, because past, hypothetical or simulated performance is not necessarily indicative of future results. Before making an investment decision, you should consider your circumstances and whether the information on our content is applicable to your situation. This information was prepared in good faith, and we accept no liability for any errors or omissions. The full disclaimer can be read here.