Magnolia Capital Advisors LLC Acquires New Position in The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE:HIG)

Magnolia Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE:HIG) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 2,249 shares of the insurance provider’s stock, valued at approximately $226,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in HIG. Bailard Inc. increased its holdings in The Hartford Financial Services Group by 0.5% in the second quarter. Bailard Inc. now owns 19,378 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,948,000 after buying an additional 101 shares during the last quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC lifted its position in The Hartford Financial Services Group by 3.1% in the first quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC now owns 3,736 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $385,000 after purchasing an additional 114 shares during the period. Covestor Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group by 28.8% during the first quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 519 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $54,000 after acquiring an additional 116 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group by 34.4% during the first quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 473 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $46,000 after acquiring an additional 121 shares during the period. Finally, Avantax Advisory Services Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group by 2.8% during the first quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 4,543 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $468,000 after acquiring an additional 122 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.42% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently commented on HIG shares. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on The Hartford Financial Services Group from $112.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on The Hartford Financial Services Group from $122.00 to $134.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 17th. Bank of America lowered their target price on The Hartford Financial Services Group from $113.00 to $111.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on The Hartford Financial Services Group from $105.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 13th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on The Hartford Financial Services Group from $105.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $113.22.

The Hartford Financial Services Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE HIG opened at $117.61 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $34.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.36, a P/E/G ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 0.93. 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 stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $112.26 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $104.72. The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $68.82 and a twelve month high of $117.84.

The Hartford Financial Services Group (NYSE:HIG) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The insurance provider reported $2.50 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 prior year, the business posted $1.88 EPS. The Hartford Financial Services Group’s quarterly revenue was up 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. will post 10.09 EPS for the current fiscal year.

The Hartford Financial Services Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 2nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 3rd will be given a $0.47 dividend. This represents a $1.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.60%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 3rd. The Hartford Financial Services Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 21.36%.

The Hartford Financial Services Group announced that its board has approved a share buyback program on Thursday, July 25th that allows the company to repurchase $3.30 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the insurance provider to buy up to 10.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

The Hartford Financial Services 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.