The Hartford Insurance Group, Inc. (NYSE:HIG) Given Average Rating of "Moderate Buy" by Analysts

Key Points

• Analysts give The Hartford (NYSE:HIG) an average rating of Moderate Buy from 18 analysts (9 hold, 7 buy, 2 strong buy) with a 12‑month average target of $149.56.
• The company beat estimates last quarter with EPS of $4.06 vs. $3.22 expected and revenue of $7.31B (vs. $7.29B), posting a 13.52% net margin and 21.92% ROE, while analysts project $13.35 EPS for the year.
• Insiders have been net sellers recently: CEO Christopher Swift sold 201,938 shares (and the EVP sold 40,693), with insiders offloading 349,282 shares (~$48.2M) over the past 90 days, leaving insiders owning 1.6% of the stock.

Shares of The Hartford Insurance Group, Inc. (NYSE:HIG - Get Free Report) have earned an average recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the eighteen analysts that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 12-month target price among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $149.5625.

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of The Hartford Insurance Group from $162.00 to $159.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 8th. Evercore lifted their price objective on shares of The Hartford Insurance Group from $137.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of The Hartford Insurance Group from $140.00 to $142.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued a "market perform" rating and set a $149.00 price objective (down from $163.00) on shares of The Hartford Insurance Group in a report on Monday, March 30th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of The Hartford Insurance Group from $156.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, April 9th.

The Hartford Insurance Group Stock Performance

The Hartford Insurance Group stock opened at $138.89 on Tuesday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $137.96 and a 200-day moving average price of $134.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a quick ratio of 0.31 and a current ratio of 0.31. The Hartford Insurance Group has a fifty-two week low of $113.27 and a fifty-two week high of $144.50. The company has a market capitalization of $38.31 billion, a PE ratio of 10.41, a P/E/G ratio of 1.30 and a beta of 0.53.

The Hartford Insurance Group (NYSE:HIG - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 29th. The insurance provider reported $4.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.22 by $0.84. The company had revenue of $7.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.29 billion. The Hartford Insurance Group had a net margin of 13.52% and a return on equity of 21.92%. The Hartford Insurance Group's revenue was up 6.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.94 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that The Hartford Insurance Group will post 13.35 earnings per share for the current year.

The Hartford Insurance Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 2nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 2nd were issued a $0.60 dividend. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 2nd. The Hartford Insurance Group's payout ratio is currently 17.99%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Christopher Swift sold 201,938 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $136.41, for a total transaction of $27,546,362.58. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 194,817 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $26,574,986.97. This represents a 50.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Lori A. Rodden sold 40,693 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $138.05, for a total value of $5,617,668.65. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 25,392 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,505,365.60. The trade was a 61.58% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 349,282 shares of company stock worth $48,184,324. Insiders own 1.60% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On The Hartford Insurance Group

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

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.

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