The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE:HIG) Short Interest Up 9.4% in June

The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE:HIG) was the target of a large growth in short interest in June. As of June 15th, there was short interest totalling 4,750,000 shares, a growth of 9.4% from the May 31st total of 4,340,000 shares. Approximately 1.6% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 1,580,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.0 days.

Insider Buying and Selling at The Hartford Financial Services Group

In other The Hartford Financial Services Group news, CFO Beth Ann Costello sold 72,076 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $99.71, for a total transaction of $7,186,697.96. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 69,169 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,896,840.99. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, EVP Michael R. Fisher sold 4,088 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $101.47, for a total value of $414,809.36. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 14,818 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,503,582.46. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Beth Ann Costello sold 72,076 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $99.71, for a total transaction of $7,186,697.96. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 69,169 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,896,840.99. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 94,499 shares of company stock worth $9,449,309. 1.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On The Hartford Financial Services Group

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC raised its stake in The Hartford Financial Services Group by 26.2% in the fourth quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC now owns 6,119,863 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $491,915,000 after purchasing an additional 1,272,290 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in The Hartford Financial Services Group by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 5,247,966 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $421,832,000 after purchasing an additional 105,799 shares in the last quarter. LSV Asset Management raised its stake in The Hartford Financial Services Group by 3.5% in the fourth quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 4,821,885 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $387,583,000 after purchasing an additional 165,190 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its stake in The Hartford Financial Services Group by 2.5% in the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 3,503,815 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $248,646,000 after purchasing an additional 87,001 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new stake in The Hartford Financial Services Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $278,704,000. 93.42% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

The Hartford Financial Services Group Price Performance

Shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group stock traded down $0.41 on Wednesday, reaching $99.62. The stock had a trading volume of 1,103,664 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,696,569. The Hartford Financial Services Group has a 1 year low of $68.82 and a 1 year high of $105.20. The company has a market cap of $29.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a current ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 0.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The business’s 50 day moving average is $100.65 and its two-hundred day moving average is $94.91.

The Hartford Financial Services Group (NYSE:HIG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The insurance provider reported $2.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.43 by ($0.09). The Hartford Financial Services Group had a return on equity of 20.64% and a net margin of 10.87%. The firm had revenue of $6.42 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.51 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.68 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that The Hartford Financial Services Group will post 9.91 EPS for the current year.

The Hartford Financial Services Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 2nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 3rd were issued a $0.47 dividend. This represents a $1.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.89%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 3rd. The Hartford Financial Services Group’s payout ratio is 21.36%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently issued reports on HIG. Argus upped their target price on shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group from $104.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 15th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group from $117.00 to $111.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 29th. Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and set a $115.00 price target on shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group in a research report on Monday, April 1st. Raymond James restated an “outperform” rating and set a $120.00 price target (up previously from $100.00) on shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group in a research report on Monday, April 1st. Finally, Citigroup lowered shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $116.00 to $114.00 in a research report on Friday, June 28th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $106.71.

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.