The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE:HIG) Given Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE:HIG) has been given a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the twelve research firms that are covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and seven have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month target price among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $85.46.

A number of research firms have weighed in on HIG. Piper Sandler dropped their target price on shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group from $94.00 to $93.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, July 31st. Citigroup lowered their target price on The Hartford Financial Services Group from $87.00 to $85.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, August 9th. Barclays dropped their price target on The Hartford Financial Services Group from $87.00 to $83.00 in a research report on Friday, July 28th. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on The Hartford Financial Services Group in a research note on Tuesday, June 20th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $71.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group from $86.00 to $94.00 in a report on Thursday, July 6th.

The Hartford Financial Services Group Stock Performance

Shares of HIG opened at $72.19 on Thursday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $72.54 and a 200 day moving average of $71.17. The company has a current ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 0.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The Hartford Financial Services Group has a 12 month low of $60.17 and a 12 month high of $79.44. The company has a market capitalization of $22.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.61, a PEG ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 0.86.

The Hartford Financial Services Group (NYSE:HIG) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 27th. The insurance provider reported $1.88 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.85 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $4.08 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.09 billion. The Hartford Financial Services Group had a return on equity of 17.54% and a net margin of 8.53%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that The Hartford Financial Services Group will post 7.8 earnings per share for the current year.

The Hartford Financial Services Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 1st will be issued a $0.425 dividend. This represents a $1.70 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.35%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 31st. The Hartford Financial Services Group’s payout ratio is 27.33%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Stephanie C. Bush sold 3,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.40, for a total value of $253,400.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 15,063 shares in the company, valued at $1,090,561.20. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Insiders sold 4,508 shares of company stock worth $326,053 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 1.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of HIG. Mackenzie Financial Corp raised its position in The Hartford Financial Services Group by 4.5% during the first quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 482,904 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $33,654,000 after purchasing an additional 20,579 shares in the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp lifted its position in The Hartford Financial Services Group by 10.9% in the 4th quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp now owns 364,283 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $27,624,000 after buying an additional 35,693 shares during the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers lifted its position in The Hartford Financial Services Group by 1.3% in the 1st quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 642,986 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $44,810,000 after buying an additional 8,514 shares during the last quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC boosted its stake in The Hartford Financial Services Group by 5.4% in the first quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC now owns 38,013 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $2,649,000 after buying an additional 1,937 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Intech Investment Management LLC grew its position in The Hartford Financial Services Group by 51.6% during the first quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 225,954 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $15,747,000 after acquiring an additional 76,931 shares during the last quarter. 90.81% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About The Hartford Financial Services Group

The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc 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, and reinsurance through regional offices, branches, sales and policyholder service centers, independent retail agents and brokers, wholesale agents, and reinsurance brokers.