Hartford Financial (HIG) to Post Q3 Earnings: What to Expect

The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. HIG will release third-quarter 2019 financial results on Nov 4, after the closing bell.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for earnings is pegged at $1.26, indicating a 9.6% rise from the year-ago reported figure.

In the last reported quarter, the company delivered adjusted operating earnings of $1.33, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 20%. Moreover, the bottom line was up 18% year over year on improved Personal Lines, Group Benefits and Corporate results, partly offset by lower Commercial Lines’ core earnings.

Its surprise history is impressive, beating estimates in all the trailing four quarters, the average being 15.6%.

Q3 Expectations

The company’s Property & Casualty segment is likely to have delivered solid results in the third quarter on the back of its solid Commercial Lines business. This, in turn, might have boosted the revenue base.

The consensus mark for written premiums of Commercial Lines suggests 22.3% growth from the year-earlier reported number.

The consensus estimate for core earnings from the Property & Casualty segment implies an upside of 34% from the prior-year reported figure.

However, higher revenues are expected to have been offset by a softness in Personal Lines business. The consensus mark for written premiums from Personal Lines indicates a 3% dip from the year-ago reported number.

After suffering low investment income for a few quarters due to low interest rates, the company has been witnessing a rise in the metric since 2018. This uptrend has most likely continued in the third quarter, providing some additional support to the revenue stream.

Lower share count owing to continued buybacks is likely to have provided an additional boost to the bottom line.

The company is expected to have incurred high expenses due to planned marketing and other growth initiatives.

What the Quantitative Model States

Our proven model does not conclusively predict an earnings beat for Hartford Financial this season. The combination of a positive Earnings ESP and a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), 2 (Buy) or 3 (Hold) increases the odds of an earnings beat. But that’s not the case here. You can uncover the best stocks to buy or sell before they’re reported with our Earnings ESP Filter.

Earnings ESP: Hartford Financial has an Earnings ESP of 0.00%. This is because both the Most Accurate Estimate and the Zacks Consensus Estimate are pegged at $1.26 cents. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

Zacks Rank: Hartford Financial carries a Zacks Rank #3, which increases the predictive power of ESP. However, the company’s 0.00% ESP makes surprise prediction difficult for the stock this time around.

Stocks to Consider

Here are a few stocks worth considering from the finance sector with the perfect mix of elements to beat on earnings in the respective upcoming releases:

Hallmark Financial Services, Inc. HALL is slated to report third-quarter earnings on Nov 7. It has a Zacks Rank #2 and an Earnings ESP of +3.03.

Athene Holding Ltd. ATH is set to report third-quarter earnings on Nov 5. The company has a Zacks Rank of 3 and an Earnings ESP of +0.09%.

Voya Financial, Inc. VOYA is slated to announce third-quarter earnings on Nov 5. The stock has an Earnings ESP of +0.05% and is Zacks #3 Ranked.

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