The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE:HIG) Short Interest Down 9.5% in September

The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE:HIG) was the target of a large decline in short interest during the month of September. As of September 30th, there was short interest totalling 3,330,000 shares, a decline of 9.5% from the September 15th total of 3,680,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,460,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.3 days. Currently, 1.1% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Analyst Ratings Changes

HIG has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on The Hartford Financial Services Group from $122.00 to $134.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 17th. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on The Hartford Financial Services Group from $109.00 to $107.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on The Hartford Financial Services Group from $112.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th. UBS Group boosted their price target on The Hartford Financial Services Group from $134.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Citigroup downgraded The Hartford Financial Services Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price target for the company from $116.00 to $114.00 in a research note on Friday, June 28th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $120.59.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On The Hartford Financial Services Group

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group by 1.2% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 5,809,358 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $584,177,000 after buying an additional 69,007 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its position in The Hartford Financial Services Group by 7.9% during the first quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 3,191,914 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $328,320,000 after purchasing an additional 233,742 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its position in The Hartford Financial Services Group by 4.9% during the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,497,960 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $150,605,000 after purchasing an additional 70,018 shares in the last quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. boosted its position in The Hartford Financial Services Group by 2.4% during the second quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. now owns 1,367,400 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $137,478,000 after purchasing an additional 31,806 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bahl & Gaynor Inc. boosted its position in The Hartford Financial Services Group by 3.4% during the second quarter. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. now owns 1,229,133 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $123,577,000 after purchasing an additional 40,400 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.42% of the company’s stock.

The Hartford Financial Services Group Price Performance

Shares of HIG traded up $2.71 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $122.33. 2,373,290 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,602,880. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $114.76 and a two-hundred day moving average of $106.06. The Hartford Financial Services Group has a 52-week low of $68.92 and a 52-week high of $123.23. The company has a market cap of $36.18 billion, a PE ratio of 13.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a quick ratio of 0.32 and a current ratio of 0.32.

The Hartford Financial Services Group (NYSE:HIG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The insurance provider reported $2.50 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.24 by $0.26. The Hartford Financial Services Group had a return on equity of 21.20% and a net margin of 11.44%. The company had revenue of $6.49 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.02 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.88 EPS. The Hartford Financial Services Group’s quarterly revenue was up 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that The Hartford Financial Services Group will post 10.09 earnings per share for the current year.

The Hartford Financial Services Group announced that its board has authorized a share repurchase program on Thursday, July 25th that allows the company to repurchase $3.30 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the insurance provider to buy up to 10.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

The Hartford Financial Services Group Company Profile

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.