Keefe, Bruyette & Woods Issues Positive Forecast for The Hartford Insurance Group (NYSE:HIG) Stock Price

The Hartford Insurance Group (NYSE:HIG) had its price objective boosted by Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $142.00 to $143.00 in a research note released on Wednesday morning,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a market perform rating on the insurance provider’s stock.

HIG has been the subject of several other research reports. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of The Hartford Insurance Group from $136.00 to $138.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 14th. Mizuho lowered their price target on shares of The Hartford Insurance Group from $159.00 to $154.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, June 5th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on The Hartford Insurance Group from $165.00 to $154.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, June 5th. UBS Group reduced their price objective on The Hartford Insurance Group from $157.00 to $155.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald decreased their price objective on The Hartford Insurance Group from $165.00 to $160.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $147.38.

The Hartford Insurance Group Stock Down 0.7%

The Hartford Insurance Group stock opened at $138.60 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 0.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. The firm has a market cap of $37.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.74, a P/E/G ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.47. The business has a fifty day moving average of $132.58 and a two-hundred day moving average of $135.43. The Hartford Insurance Group has a twelve month low of $119.61 and a twelve month high of $144.50.

The Hartford Insurance Group (NYSE:HIG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The insurance provider reported $3.09 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.39 by ($0.30). The firm had revenue of $7.23 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 quarterly revenue was up 6.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.20 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that The Hartford Insurance Group will post 12.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

The Hartford Insurance Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 2nd. Investors of record on Monday, June 1st were paid a dividend of $0.60 per share. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 1st. The Hartford Insurance Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 16.87%.

Insider Activity

In other The Hartford Insurance Group news, President Adin M. Tooker sold 8,895 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $135.13, for a total value of $1,201,981.35. Following the completion of the sale, the president directly owned 38,208 shares in the company, valued at $5,163,047.04. This represents a 18.88% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 1.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of HIG. First Pacific Financial purchased a new position in shares of The Hartford Insurance Group in the first quarter valued at approximately $26,000. JPL Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in The Hartford Insurance Group during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. United Financial Planning Group LLC acquired a new stake in The Hartford Insurance Group during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Phillip James Consulting Co. acquired a new stake in The Hartford Insurance Group during the 1st quarter worth approximately $29,000. Finally, Sunbelt Securities Inc. purchased a new position in The Hartford Insurance Group in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.42% of the company’s stock.

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.