The Hartford fell about half a percent today, its sixth down day out of the last ten, and now sits roughly 6 percent below its high from late July. We think this is mostly the whole market moving today rather than anything specific to the company's insurance business.
Our view
The Hartford is currently operating at a very high level and just committed billions more to buying back its own shares. If you already own it, there is nothing to do here but sit tight and let that cash return to you over time.
The Hartford has elected Priscilla Almodovar to its board of directors, effective September 1. She will join the committees responsible for overseeing the company's finances, investments, risk management, and audits. Almodovar previously served as the president and CEO of Fannie Mae, a major government-sponsored firm that supports the mortgage market. Her background in large-scale financial services and risk management is a natural fit for an insurance company, where managing investment portfolios and assessing long-term risk are the core of the business.
The Hartford is buying Equitable's employee benefits unit, adding about $500 million in annual premiums. This business focuses on providing life and disability insurance to small and midsize companies, which is a core area where The Hartford already has a strong presence.
This deal helps the company grow its group benefits arm, a high-margin unit that is a key part of its earnings. By folding in more customers, it can spread its costs over a larger base and use its existing data to price these new policies more accurately.
Strong second quarter results and a large buyback boost
The Hartford reported core earnings of $3.42 per share, which was higher than the $3.16 analysts expected. This performance was driven by growth in business insurance premiums and a combined ratio of 91.4 percent, meaning the company is paying out much less in claims than it collects in premiums.
Management also authorized a new $4.2 billion share buyback program. This is a 27 percent increase over the previous plan and shows the company is generating plenty of cash to return to owners. For a mature insurer, these buybacks are a primary way to grow earnings per share over time even when the industry is not growing quickly.
The Hartford appointed Randy Larsen to its board of directors, effective September 1. He will serve on committees that oversee the company's finances, investments, and risk management. Adding experienced leaders to the board is a routine part of corporate governance. Larsen's background in scaling insurance organizations fits with the company's current focus on growing its business and employee benefits units while maintaining strict discipline in how it handles risk.
The Hartford will pay a dividend of $0.60 per share on October 2 to shareholders who own the stock by September 1. This is a continuation of the company's regular payout policy. Consistent dividends are a hallmark of mature insurance companies. Along with the recently increased share buyback program, this payout shows the company's commitment to returning a large portion of its cash flow to its owners.
Analysts have kept their ratings steady following the company's recent earnings report. Most analysts, 23 of 42, rate the stock a buy, and the average price target of $151 suggests about 10% room for growth.
Average target$151.33+10%vs $137.39 today
TodayAvg price
Low $146High $154
Buy42 analysts
0Bearish
19Neutral
23Bullish
FirmRatingPrice TargetDate
Piper Sandler
Neutral
$146
7/15/2026
Mizuho Securities
Outperform
$154
6/5/2026
Wells Fargo
Overweight
$154
6/5/2026
Morgan Stanley
Equal Weight
$140→$142
2/3/2026
Cantor Fitzgerald
Overweight
$160→$165
2/2/2026
UBS
Buy
$155→$157
2/2/2026
Wells Fargo
Overweight
$153→$156
2/1/2026
Roth Capital
Neutral
$120→$135
1/30/2026
Cantor Fitzgerald
Overweight
$152→$160
1/14/2026
Wells Fargo
Overweight
$140→$153
1/13/2026
Goldman Sachs
—
$143→$151
1/7/2026
Evercore ISI
In Line
$137→$145
1/7/2026
Hartford Financial earnings
The company has a very reliable habit of beating analyst profit targets, often by a wide margin. This suggests management is conservative with its forecasts and the business is performing better than expected.
Earnings history
EstimateBeatMiss
Hartford Financial past earnings results
Expected
Actual
Surprise
EPS
$3.16
$3.42
+8.2%
Revenue
$7.17B
$7.26B
+1.3%
Key highlights
Massive share repurchase boost: The board authorized a new $4.2 billion share buyback program, which is a 27% increase over the previous plan. This allows the company to buy back more of its own shares through 2028, which typically makes each remaining share more valuable for long-term owners.
Business insurance profitability dipped: The combined ratio for business insurance, which measures claims and costs as a percentage of premiums, rose to 91.4% from 87.0% last year. This increase was driven by 2.9 points of less favorable reserve developments, meaning the company had to set aside more money for older claims than it previously expected.
Investment income surges: Net investment income grew 22% to $800 million, helped by a 7.6% yield on limited partnerships compared to just 1.0% a year ago. Higher returns from real estate joint ventures and energy funds provided a significant boost to the company's total earnings this quarter.
Personal insurance turnaround: The personal insurance division improved its underlying combined ratio by 1.7 points to 86.3%, showing better profitability even as written premiums fell 7%. While the company is selling fewer new policies in a competitive market, the prices it charges for car and home insurance are now rising faster than the cost of claims.
Future capital returns: Management signaled continued confidence in returning cash to shareholders by paying $165 million in dividends and buying back $450 million in stock this quarter alone. The company aims to deliver high returns for owners, supported by a core return on equity of 18.7% over the last twelve months.
Our take: The Hartford delivered a very strong quarter, as high investment returns and a recovery in personal insurance more than made up for slightly higher costs in the business segment. The massive 27% increase to the buyback plan is the real highlight. It shows management's confidence in the long-term cash flow of the business.
Hartford Financial’s next earnings date
Q3 2026
OCT
26
Expectation
EPS
$3.06
Revenue
$7.27B
SEP
1
Dividend payday
Own the stock before this date to get the next dividend payment.
Metrics we are tracking
Metric
Expectations
Status
Combined Ratio
Staying below 90% in the Business Insurance segment
91.4% in Q2 2026
Commercial Premium Growth
Maintaining 6% to 8% annual growth in written premiums
5% YoY in Q2 2026
Core Return on Equity
Staying above the 17% to 19% long-term target range
18.7% for the 12 months ending Q2 2026
Share Count Reduction
Reducing the total shares outstanding by at least 3% annually
4% reduction in FY2025
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