The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE:HIG) Receives Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE:HIG) have received a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the eighteen ratings firms that are covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price target among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $120.59.

Several equities analysts recently commented on the company. Citigroup lowered The Hartford Financial Services Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their target price for the company from $116.00 to $114.00 in a research note on Friday, June 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on The Hartford Financial Services Group from $117.00 to $122.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on The Hartford Financial Services Group from $105.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th. UBS Group upped their target price on The Hartford Financial Services Group from $134.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Piper Sandler upped their target price on The Hartford Financial Services Group from $112.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th.

The Hartford Financial Services Group Stock Performance

NYSE HIG opened at $122.33 on Friday. The Hartford Financial Services Group has a fifty-two week low of $68.92 and a fifty-two week high of $123.23. The stock has a market cap of $36.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 0.93. The business has a fifty day moving average of $115.06 and a 200-day moving average of $106.17. The company has a quick ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 0.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28.

The Hartford Financial Services Group (NYSE:HIG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The insurance provider reported $2.50 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.24 by $0.26. The Hartford Financial Services Group had a return on equity of 21.20% and a net margin of 11.44%. The company had revenue of $6.49 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.02 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.88 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that The Hartford Financial Services Group will post 10.09 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

The Hartford Financial Services Group announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback program on Thursday, July 25th that authorizes the company to repurchase $3.30 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the insurance provider to buy up to 10.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On The Hartford Financial Services Group

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of HIG. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in The Hartford Financial Services Group by 1.2% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 5,809,358 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $584,177,000 after purchasing an additional 69,007 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its holdings in The Hartford Financial Services Group by 7.9% in the first quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 3,191,914 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $328,320,000 after purchasing an additional 233,742 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in The Hartford Financial Services Group by 4.9% in the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,497,960 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $150,605,000 after purchasing an additional 70,018 shares during the last quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. boosted its holdings in The Hartford Financial Services Group by 2.4% in the second quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. now owns 1,367,400 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $137,478,000 after purchasing an additional 31,806 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bahl & Gaynor Inc. boosted its holdings in The Hartford Financial Services Group by 3.4% in the second quarter. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. now owns 1,229,133 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $123,577,000 after purchasing an additional 40,400 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.42% of the company’s stock.

About The Hartford Financial Services 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.