The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE:HIG) Receives $120.59 Consensus PT from Brokerages

The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE:HIG) has been given an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the eighteen brokerages that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, seven have assigned a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 1 year price target among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $120.59.

HIG has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group from $113.00 to $127.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Argus upgraded shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Citigroup cut shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $116.00 to $114.00 in a research report on Friday, June 28th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group from $109.00 to $107.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. Finally, Barclays initiated coverage on shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $130.00 price objective on the stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group during the second quarter valued at $213,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its stake in The Hartford Financial Services Group by 27.1% in the first quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 456,799 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $47,073,000 after acquiring an additional 97,465 shares during the period. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise lifted its stake in The Hartford Financial Services Group by 378.8% in the first quarter. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise now owns 16,725 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,724,000 after acquiring an additional 13,232 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co. lifted its stake in The Hartford Financial Services Group by 5.6% in the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 229,305 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $23,629,000 after acquiring an additional 12,067 shares during the period. Finally, Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ lifted its stake in The Hartford Financial Services Group by 27.6% in the second quarter. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ now owns 221,896 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $22,309,000 after acquiring an additional 48,004 shares during the period. 93.42% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

The Hartford Financial Services Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:HIG opened at $122.00 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 0.32 and a quick ratio of 0.32. The Hartford Financial Services Group has a 1-year low of $68.92 and a 1-year high of $123.23. The company has a market capitalization of $36.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.86, a P/E/G ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 0.93. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $115.34 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $106.37.

The Hartford Financial Services Group (NYSE:HIG) last issued its quarterly 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 net margin of 11.44% and a return on equity of 21.20%. The business had revenue of $6.49 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.02 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.88 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that The Hartford Financial Services Group will post 10.09 EPS for the current fiscal year.

The Hartford Financial Services Group declared that its board has approved a stock repurchase program on Thursday, July 25th that permits the company to buyback $3.30 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the insurance provider to repurchase up to 10.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

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.