The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE:HIG) Sees Large Growth in Short Interest

The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE:HIG) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest during the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 4,200,000 shares, an increase of 17.6% from the March 15th total of 3,570,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 1,820,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.3 days. Currently, 1.4% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Christopher Swift sold 4,633 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.06, for a total transaction of $384,816.98. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 170,180 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,135,150.80. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other The Hartford Financial Services Group news, EVP Adin M. Tooker sold 8,206 shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.60, for a total value of $784,493.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 25,820 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,468,392. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Christopher Swift sold 4,633 shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.06, for a total transaction of $384,816.98. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 170,180 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,135,150.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 253,715 shares of company stock valued at $22,789,138 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On The Hartford Financial Services Group

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Janiczek Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group by 9.4% in the 1st quarter. Janiczek Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,929 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $508,000 after acquiring an additional 422 shares during the period. Signet Financial Management LLC raised its stake in shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group by 2.9% in the 1st quarter. Signet Financial Management LLC now owns 31,323 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $3,228,000 after acquiring an additional 877 shares during the period. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $274,000. DGS Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $417,000. Finally, Ignite Planners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $213,000. 93.42% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

HIG has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group from $114.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group from $96.00 to $104.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group from $94.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group from $91.00 to $104.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, April 8th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group from $100.00 to $107.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 5th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, The Hartford Financial Services Group currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $103.82.

The Hartford Financial Services Group Stock Performance

NYSE:HIG opened at $97.31 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 0.32 and a quick ratio of 0.32. The firm has a market capitalization of $28.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.18, a PEG ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 0.89. The company’s 50-day moving average is $97.21 and its two-hundred day moving average is $84.71. The Hartford Financial Services Group has a 1-year low of $67.05 and a 1-year high of $103.64.

The Hartford Financial Services Group (NYSE:HIG) last posted its earnings results on Friday, February 2nd. The insurance provider reported $3.06 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.44 by $0.62. The company had revenue of $6.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.84 billion. The Hartford Financial Services Group had a net margin of 10.21% and a return on equity of 19.82%. The Hartford Financial Services Group’s revenue was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.31 EPS. Analysts forecast that The Hartford Financial Services Group will post 10.12 EPS for the current year.

The Hartford Financial Services Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 2nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 4th were paid a $0.47 dividend. This represents a $1.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.93%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 1st. The Hartford Financial Services Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 23.53%.

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.