Cantor Fitzgerald Begins Coverage on The Hartford Insurance Group (NYSE:HIG)

Key Points

• Analysts at Cantor Fitzgerald have initiated coverage of The Hartford Insurance Group, assigning it an "overweight" rating and a price target of $152.00, suggesting a potential upside of 17.79%.
• The Hartford Insurance Group recently reported earnings of $3.41 per share for the last quarter, surpassing analysts' expectations and reflecting a 7.7% year-over-year revenue growth.
• Insider trading activity includes CFO Beth Ann Costello selling 35,340 shares at an average price of $123.50, representing a significant decrease in her ownership position.

Cantor Fitzgerald assumed coverage on shares of The Hartford Insurance Group (NYSE:HIG - Free Report) in a research report report published on Wednesday morning, MarketBeat.com reports. The brokerage issued an overweight rating and a $152.00 price objective on the insurance provider's stock. Cantor Fitzgerald also issued estimates for The Hartford Insurance Group's FY2025 earnings at $12.11 EPS and FY2026 earnings at $13.43 EPS.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently commented on HIG. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price 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. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on The Hartford Insurance Group from $138.00 to $139.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Barclays lowered their target price on The Hartford Insurance Group from $145.00 to $142.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 7th. Raymond James Financial reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $140.00 target price (up previously from $135.00) on shares of The Hartford Insurance Group in a report on Friday, August 1st. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded The Hartford Insurance Group from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, August 2nd. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, The Hartford Insurance Group currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $137.64.

The Hartford Insurance Group Stock Performance

Shares of HIG stock traded down $0.60 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $130.74. 2,700,466 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,471,675. The company has a market cap of $36.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 0.67. The company's 50 day moving average is $124.94 and its two-hundred day moving average is $121.82. The Hartford Insurance Group has a 1 year low of $104.93 and a 1 year high of $132.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 0.31 and a quick ratio of 0.31.

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

The Hartford Insurance Group Announces Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling at The Hartford Insurance Group

In related news, CFO Beth Ann Costello sold 35,340 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $123.50, for a total value of $4,364,490.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 77,574 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $9,580,389. This trade represents a 31.30% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 1.50% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of The Hartford Insurance Group by 0.4% during the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 37,160,644 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $4,714,571,000 after acquiring an additional 156,807 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of The Hartford Insurance Group by 0.8% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 7,467,018 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $943,448,000 after acquiring an additional 57,539 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased its position in shares of The Hartford Insurance Group by 2.9% during the second quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,834,472 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $613,349,000 after acquiring an additional 136,483 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of The Hartford Insurance Group during the second quarter worth about $506,329,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in The Hartford Insurance Group by 11.3% in the first quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,936,615 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $487,077,000 after buying an additional 398,950 shares during the last quarter. 93.42% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

The Hartford Insurance Group Company Profile

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.