The Hartford Financial Services Group (NYSE:HIG) Reaches New 1-Year High After Analyst Upgrade

The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE:HIG)’s stock price reached a new 52-week high during trading on Tuesday after StockNews.com upgraded the stock from a hold rating to a buy rating. The stock traded as high as $132.09 and last traded at $131.66, with a volume of 1205054 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $131.12.

Several other equities analysts also recently commented on HIG. Raymond James upped their price target on shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, March 31st. Piper Sandler increased their target price on shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group from $130.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group from $139.00 to $142.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 28th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on The Hartford Financial Services Group from $115.00 to $130.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on The Hartford Financial Services Group from $126.00 to $125.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $129.71.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other The Hartford Financial Services Group news, CEO Christopher Swift sold 1,144 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.00, for a total value of $143,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 211,082 shares in the company, valued at approximately $26,385,250. This represents a 0.54% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Robert W. Paiano sold 13,138 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $117.20, for a total transaction of $1,539,773.60. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 31,678 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,712,661.60. This trade represents a 29.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 113,429 shares of company stock valued at $13,618,028 over the last three months. Insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On The Hartford Financial Services Group

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group by 10.3% in the fourth quarter. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC now owns 3,023 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $331,000 after buying an additional 282 shares in the last quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC lifted its position in The Hartford Financial Services Group by 251.4% in the 4th quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 7,078 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $774,000 after acquiring an additional 5,064 shares in the last quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in The Hartford Financial Services Group by 14.2% in the 4th quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,982 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $545,000 after acquiring an additional 621 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its stake in The Hartford Financial Services Group by 612.6% during the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 32,528 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $3,559,000 after purchasing an additional 27,963 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. increased its holdings in shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group by 6.5% in the 4th quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 58,718 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $6,424,000 after purchasing an additional 3,576 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.42% of the company’s stock.

The Hartford Financial Services Group Stock Down 0.4%

The stock has a market cap of $37.26 billion, a PE ratio of 12.67, a PEG ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 0.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 0.32 and a quick ratio of 0.32. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $121.27 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $116.57.

The Hartford Financial Services Group (NYSE:HIG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The insurance provider reported $2.20 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.15 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $6.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.97 billion. The Hartford Financial Services Group had a return on equity of 19.55% and a net margin of 11.72%. The company’s revenue was up 6.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.34 EPS. Analysts expect that The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. will post 11.11 EPS for the current year.

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.