The Hartford Insurance Group (NYSE:HIG) Stock Rating Lowered by Keefe, Bruyette & Woods

The Hartford Insurance Group (NYSE:HIG) was downgraded by stock analysts at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from a “moderate buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued on Sunday, MarketBeat.com reports. They presently have a $149.00 price target on the insurance provider’s stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods’ price objective indicates a potential upside of 10.84% from the company’s current price.

HIG has been the topic of several other reports. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of The Hartford Insurance Group from $151.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 8th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of The Hartford Insurance Group from $140.00 to $142.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 3rd. Cantor Fitzgerald lifted their price objective on The Hartford Insurance Group from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Evercore upped their price objective on The Hartford Insurance Group from $137.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. Finally, Roth Mkm increased their target price on The Hartford Insurance Group from $120.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $147.25.

The Hartford Insurance Group Stock Up 1.6%

Shares of HIG stock opened at $134.43 on Friday. The Hartford Insurance Group has a one year low of $107.49 and a one year high of $144.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.31 and a quick ratio of 0.31. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $137.00 and a 200 day moving average price of $134.01. The stock has a market cap of $37.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 0.60.

The Hartford Insurance Group (NYSE:HIG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The insurance provider reported $4.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.22 by $0.84. The Hartford Insurance Group had a net margin of 13.52% and a return on equity of 21.92%. The firm had revenue of $7.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.29 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.94 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.7% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that The Hartford Insurance Group will post 11.11 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other The Hartford Insurance Group news, CFO Beth Ann Costello sold 35,339 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $136.58, for a total value of $4,826,600.62. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 77,574 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,595,056.92. The trade was a 31.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Christopher Swift sold 201,938 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $136.41, for a total value of $27,546,362.58. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 194,817 shares in the company, valued at $26,574,986.97. The trade was a 50.90% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 384,621 shares of company stock worth $53,010,925. Insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC grew its holdings in The Hartford Insurance Group by 707.7% during the 3rd quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 210 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 184 shares during the last quarter. JPL Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of The Hartford Insurance Group in the third quarter worth about $26,000. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of The Hartford Insurance Group in the third quarter worth about $27,000. United Financial Planning Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of The Hartford Insurance Group during the third quarter worth approximately $29,000. Finally, Sunbelt Securities Inc. bought a new stake in shares of The Hartford Insurance Group during the third quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.42% of the company’s stock.

About The Hartford Insurance Group

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.