The Hartford Hits 52-Week High on Strong Q3 Earnings
On Nov 11, 2014, shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. (HIG) reached a new 52-week high of $40.44. Stock price of this company soared owing to strong third-quarter earnings, primarily attributable to better property and casualty underwriting results and growth in income from limited partnerships and other alternative investments.
The shares gained almost 22% in the one-year period to close at $40.16 in the last trading session. Moreover, The Hartford’s one-year return of 17.07% was higher than the S&P 500’s return of 15.19% and that of the other industry players like Arch Capital Group Ltd. (ACGL), Selective Insurance Group Inc. (SIGI) and American Financial Group Inc. (AFG) that recorded returns of -1.95%, 0.52% and 8.13%, respectively.
Last month, The Hartford reported impressive third-quarter earnings that not only surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate but also rose from the prior-year quarter. Notably, this multiline insurer delivered positive earnings surprises in three of the last four quarters with an average beat of 0.78%.
The Hartford, which is exposed to catastrophes, was favored by the low count of catastrophic events this quarter that helped it report catastrophe losses at a much lower level than the value guided while reporting second-quarter results.
Additionally, The Hartford is a dedicated player when it comes to capital deployment. It has been enthusiastic about share repurchases that led to a decline in share count and largely mitigated the negatives in the quarter. Moreover, The Hartford upped its capital management plans for 2014–15 in Jul 2014, thanks to closure of the sale of the Japan annuity company, Hartford Life Insurance K.K.
Currently, The Hartford carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).
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