Keefe, Bruyette & Woods Lowers The Hartford Insurance Group (NYSE:HIG) Price Target to $142.00

The Hartford Insurance Group (NYSE:HIG) had its price objective dropped by analysts at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $149.00 to $142.00 in a report issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “market perform” rating on the insurance provider’s stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods’ target price would indicate a potential upside of 12.56% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other research firms have also recently weighed in on HIG. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of The Hartford Insurance Group from $159.00 to $156.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of The Hartford Insurance Group from $138.00 to $143.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of The Hartford Insurance Group from $157.00 to $155.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 27th. Bank of America raised their price objective 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. Finally, Mizuho raised their price objective on shares of The Hartford Insurance Group from $158.00 to $159.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 28th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, The Hartford Insurance Group has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $148.88.

The Hartford Insurance Group Stock Down 0.8%

HIG opened at $126.15 on Thursday. 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 stock has a market cap of $34.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.87, a PEG ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.47. The Hartford Insurance Group has a twelve month low of $119.61 and a twelve month high of $144.50. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $135.09 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $135.91.

The Hartford Insurance Group (NYSE:HIG) last released its 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 company had revenue of $7.23 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 revenue was up 6.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.20 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that The Hartford Insurance Group will post 13.17 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at The Hartford Insurance Group

In other The Hartford Insurance Group news, President Adin M. Tooker sold 8,895 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $135.13, for a total value of $1,201,981.35. Following 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Lori A. Rodden sold 40,693 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $138.05, for a total transaction of $5,617,668.65. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 25,392 shares in the company, valued at $3,505,365.60. This represents a 61.58% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 1.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of The Hartford Insurance Group

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC lifted its stake in The Hartford Insurance Group by 707.7% in the 3rd quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 210 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 184 shares in the last quarter. First Pacific Financial bought a new position in shares of The Hartford Insurance Group in the 1st quarter worth $26,000. JPL Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of The Hartford Insurance Group in the 3rd quarter worth $26,000. United Financial Planning Group LLC bought a new position in shares of The Hartford Insurance Group in the 3rd quarter worth $29,000. Finally, Phillip James Consulting Co. bought a new position in shares of The Hartford Insurance Group in the 1st quarter worth $29,000. 93.42% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About The Hartford Insurance Group

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.