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

The Hartford Insurance Group, Inc. (NYSE:HIG) shares hit a new 52-week high on Wednesday after Morgan Stanley raised their price target on the stock from $140.00 to $142.00. Morgan Stanley currently has an equal weight rating on the stock. The Hartford Insurance Group traded as high as $140.70 and last traded at $140.2880, with a volume of 66602 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $138.44.

A number of other brokerages have also recently commented on HIG. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on The Hartford Insurance Group from $152.00 to $161.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, December 22nd. Weiss Ratings downgraded The Hartford Insurance Group from a “buy (a-)” rating to a “buy (b+)” rating in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of The Hartford Insurance Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, November 1st. Cantor Fitzgerald lifted their price objective on shares of The Hartford Insurance Group from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, Mizuho assumed coverage on shares of The Hartford Insurance Group in a report on Tuesday, December 16th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $160.00 price objective on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $147.63.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other The Hartford Insurance Group news, CFO Beth Ann Costello sold 35,339 shares of The Hartford Insurance Group stock in a transaction on Friday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $136.58, for a total value of $4,826,600.62. Following the completion of 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On The Hartford Insurance Group

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of The Hartford Insurance Group in the first quarter valued at approximately $207,000. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of The Hartford Insurance Group in the 2nd quarter valued at $199,000. Belpointe Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of The Hartford Insurance Group by 8.3% during the second quarter. Belpointe Asset Management LLC now owns 6,252 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $793,000 after purchasing an additional 481 shares in the last quarter. Shell Asset Management Co. boosted its position in The Hartford Insurance Group by 26.1% in the 2nd quarter. Shell Asset Management Co. now owns 56,755 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $7,201,000 after buying an additional 11,732 shares during the period. Finally, DMC Group LLC grew its stake in The Hartford Insurance Group by 9.1% during the 2nd quarter. DMC Group LLC now owns 5,578 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $708,000 after purchasing an additional 464 shares in the last quarter. 93.42% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

The Hartford Insurance Group Stock Performance

The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $134.83 and a 200 day moving average price of $131.46. The company has a quick ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 0.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. The firm has a market capitalization of $39.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.51, a P/E/G ratio of 1.06 and a beta of 0.61.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.22 by $0.84. The Hartford Insurance Group had a return on equity of 21.92% and a net margin of 13.52%.The firm had revenue of $7.34 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.29 billion. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.94 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that The Hartford Insurance Group, Inc. will post 11.11 EPS for the current year.

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.