The Hartford Insurance Group, Inc. (NYSE:HIG) Receives Consensus Rating of "Moderate Buy" from Brokerages

Key Points

• The Hartford Insurance Group, Inc. (NYSE:HIG) has received a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" from 14 brokerages, with seven analysts recommending a hold and seven a buy.
• On the financial front, the company reported $3.41 EPS for its last quarter, outperforming the consensus estimate of $2.83, while showing a 7.7% increase in year-over-year revenue.
• The company has declared a quarterly dividend of $0.52 per share, representing a yield of 1.6%, to be paid to shareholders on October 2nd.

Shares of The Hartford Insurance Group, Inc. (NYSE:HIG - Get Free Report) have been assigned an average rating of "Moderate Buy" from the fourteen brokerages that are covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and seven have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year target price among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $138.00.

A number of research firms recently commented on HIG. Raymond James Financial restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $140.00 price objective (up previously from $135.00) on shares of The Hartford Insurance Group in a report on Friday, August 1st. UBS Group increased their price target on The Hartford Insurance Group from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, August 4th. Wall Street Zen downgraded The Hartford Insurance Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on The Hartford Insurance Group from $140.00 to $142.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 29th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald started coverage on The Hartford Insurance Group in a report on Wednesday, August 13th. They set an "overweight" rating and a $152.00 price target on the stock.

The Hartford Insurance Group Stock Down 2.3%

HIG stock opened at $131.65 on Monday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $127.08 and a two-hundred day moving average of $123.99. The Hartford Insurance Group has a 12-month low of $104.93 and a 12-month high of $135.17. The company has a market cap of $37.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.94, a PEG ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a quick ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 0.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25.

The Hartford Insurance Group (NYSE:HIG - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 28th. The insurance provider reported $3.41 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.83 by $0.58. The Hartford Insurance Group had a return on equity of 19.60% and a net margin of 11.83%.The firm had revenue of $6.99 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.02 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.50 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 7.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that The Hartford Insurance Group will post 11.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

The Hartford Insurance Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 2nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 2nd will be issued a dividend of $0.52 per share. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 2nd. The Hartford Insurance Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 18.86%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Beth Ann Costello sold 35,340 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, August 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $123.50, for a total value of $4,364,490.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 77,574 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,580,389. This trade represents a 31.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On The Hartford Insurance Group

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of HIG. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of The Hartford Insurance Group in the second quarter worth $506,329,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in shares of The Hartford Insurance Group by 14,049.5% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,424,009 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $1,761,930,000 after acquiring an additional 1,413,945 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in shares of The Hartford Insurance Group by 51.5% in the second quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 3,268,166 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $414,632,000 after acquiring an additional 1,111,659 shares during the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP grew its stake in shares of The Hartford Insurance Group by 28,218.5% in the first quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 757,804 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $93,763,000 after acquiring an additional 755,128 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in shares of The Hartford Insurance Group in the first quarter worth $87,516,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.42% of the company's stock.

About The Hartford Insurance Group

The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, provides insurance and financial services to individual and business customers in the United States, the United Kingdom, and internationally. Its Commercial Lines segment offers insurance coverages, including workers' compensation, property, automobile, general and professional liability, package business, umbrella, fidelity and surety, marine, livestock, accident, health, and reinsurance through regional offices, branches, sales and policyholder service centers, independent retail agents and brokers, wholesale agents, and reinsurance brokers.

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