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

The Hartford Insurance Group, Inc. (NYSE:HIG) has been given a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the eighteen research firms that are covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, eight have given a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month price target among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $149.3125.

Several brokerages recently commented on HIG. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on The Hartford Insurance Group from $140.00 to $142.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Mizuho boosted their price objective on The Hartford Insurance Group from $158.00 to $159.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 28th. Cantor Fitzgerald reduced their price target on The Hartford Insurance Group from $165.00 to $160.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. Roth Mkm upped their price objective on The Hartford Insurance Group from $120.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. Finally, Barclays dropped their price target on The Hartford Insurance Group from $159.00 to $156.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 24th.

The Hartford Insurance Group Price Performance

The Hartford Insurance Group stock opened at $134.02 on Friday. The Hartford Insurance Group has a 12 month low of $119.61 and a 12 month high of $144.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 0.31 and a quick ratio of 0.31. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $135.86 and a 200-day simple moving average of $135.41. The stock has a market capitalization of $36.74 billion, a PE ratio of 9.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 0.50.

The Hartford Insurance Group (NYSE:HIG) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The insurance provider reported $3.09 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.39 by ($0.30). The firm had revenue of $14.45 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.41 billion. The Hartford Insurance Group had a net margin of 14.10% and a return on equity of 22.52%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.20 EPS. Equities analysts predict that The Hartford Insurance Group will post 13.17 earnings per share for the current year.

The Hartford Insurance Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 2nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 2nd were paid a $0.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 2nd. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.8%. The Hartford Insurance Group’s payout ratio is 16.87%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Lori A. Rodden sold 40,693 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $138.05, for a total transaction of $5,617,668.65. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 25,392 shares in the company, valued at $3,505,365.60. This represents a 61.58% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 1.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On The Hartford Insurance Group

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC bought a new position in The Hartford Insurance Group in the 1st quarter valued at $207,000. NewEdge Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of The Hartford Insurance Group by 1.6% in the second quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 56,140 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $7,122,000 after purchasing an additional 886 shares during the last quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina boosted its stake in shares of The Hartford Insurance Group by 3.9% in the second quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 167,868 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $21,297,000 after buying an additional 6,285 shares during the period. HUB Investment Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of The Hartford Insurance Group by 9.8% in the 2nd quarter. HUB Investment Partners LLC now owns 6,919 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $878,000 after acquiring an additional 619 shares during the last quarter. Finally, DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main raised its position in shares of The Hartford Insurance Group by 25.5% during the second quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main now owns 193,020 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $24,488,000 after acquiring an additional 39,220 shares during the last quarter. 93.42% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

The Hartford Insurance Group Company Profile

The Hartford Financial Services Group, commonly known as The Hartford, is a U.S.-based insurance and investment company that provides a broad range of commercial and personal insurance products and employee benefits. Its core businesses include property and casualty insurance for businesses and individuals, group benefits such as group life, disability and dental plans, and retirement and investment solutions offered through affiliated asset-management operations. The company also delivers risk management, claims-handling and loss-prevention services designed to support policyholders across a variety of industries.

Founded in Hartford, Connecticut, in 1810, The Hartford is one of the oldest insurance organizations in the United States and has a long history of underwriting and product development across multiple insurance lines.