Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Purchases New Holdings in The Hartford Insurance Group, Inc. $HIG

Key Points

• Jefferies Financial Group acquired 9,332 shares of The Hartford Insurance Group worth approximately $1.24 million in the second quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 93.42% of HIG.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed, with seven Buy ratings and eleven Holds; the stock has a consensus rating of Hold and an average price target of $149.67, above its reported $138.51 share price.
• The Hartford exceeded quarterly earnings expectations, reporting $3.42 in EPS and $7.26 billion in revenue, while revenue increased 8.1% year over year. The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.60 per share, representing a 1.7% yield.

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of The Hartford Insurance Group, Inc. (NYSE:HIG - Free Report) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 9,332 shares of the insurance provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,237,000.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of The Hartford Insurance Group in the first quarter worth $207,000. NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted its stake in The Hartford Insurance Group by 1.6% during the 2nd quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 56,140 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $7,122,000 after acquiring an additional 886 shares during the last quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina boosted its stake in The Hartford Insurance Group by 3.9% during the 2nd quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 167,868 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $21,297,000 after acquiring an additional 6,285 shares during the last quarter. HUB Investment Partners LLC grew its holdings in The Hartford Insurance Group by 9.8% during the 2nd quarter. HUB Investment Partners LLC now owns 6,919 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $878,000 after acquiring an additional 619 shares in the last quarter. Finally, DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main grew its holdings in The Hartford Insurance Group by 25.5% during the 2nd quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main now owns 193,020 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $24,488,000 after acquiring an additional 39,220 shares in the last quarter. 93.42% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on HIG. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their target price on shares of The Hartford Insurance Group from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Monday, July 27th. Zacks Research upgraded The Hartford Insurance Group from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 25th. Mizuho boosted their price objective on The Hartford Insurance Group from $154.00 to $163.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Barclays cut their price objective on The Hartford Insurance Group from $156.00 to $155.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, June 12th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "buy (b+)" rating on shares of The Hartford Insurance Group in a report on Monday, August 24th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $149.67.

The Hartford Insurance Group Stock Performance

Shares of HIG stock opened at $138.51 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $37.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.95, a PEG ratio of 3.40 and a beta of 0.46. The business has a 50 day moving average of $138.49 and a two-hundred day moving average of $136.56. The Hartford Insurance Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $120.33 and a 52 week high of $146.07. The company has a quick ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 0.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23.

The Hartford Insurance Group (NYSE:HIG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The insurance provider reported $3.42 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.16 by $0.26. The Hartford Insurance Group had a return on equity of 21.66% and a net margin of 15.00%.The business had revenue of $7.26 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.17 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.41 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that The Hartford Insurance Group, Inc. will post 12.8 EPS for the current year.

The Hartford Insurance Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 2nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 1st will be given a $0.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 1st. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.7%. The Hartford Insurance Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 15.51%.

The Hartford Insurance Group Company Profile

The Hartford Financial Services Group, commonly known as The Hartford, is a U.S.-based insurance and investment company that provides a broad range of commercial and personal insurance products and employee benefits. Its core businesses include property and casualty insurance for businesses and individuals, group benefits such as group life, disability and dental plans, and retirement and investment solutions offered through affiliated asset-management operations. The company also delivers risk management, claims-handling and loss-prevention services designed to support policyholders across a variety of industries.

Founded in Hartford, Connecticut, in 1810, The Hartford is one of the oldest insurance organizations in the United States and has a long history of underwriting and product development across multiple insurance lines.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.

Continue following MarketBeat

Add MarketBeat as your preferred source on Google to see our latest stories in your feed.

Add As Preferred Source