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The Hartford (HIG): What's in Store this Earnings Season?
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The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. (HIG - Free Report) will release fourth-quarter 2016 financial results on Feb 2 after the closing bell. Last quarter, the company delivered a positive earnings surprise of 11.58%.
Let’s see how things are shaping up for this announcement.
Factors Influencing this Past Quarter
We expect the personal lines segment to deliver a solid performance on the back of the new strategies implemented by the leadership team.
In spite of stiff competition, the company has been able to strike a proper balance between underwriting discipline and profitable growth in selected markets. This is expected to have supported growth in the commercial lines as well.
Workers' compensation is likely to continue delivering high margins in the fourth quarter backed by pricing and low cost trends.
The Hartford’s impressive marketing efforts should have boosted top-line growth in the to-be-reported quarter.
The company’s use of digital and dative analytics to improve customer experience thorough its industry-leading customer service centers should also have contributed to revenue growth.
Strategic partnerships signed to expand the mutual funds segment are expected to have bolstered top-line growth.
However, a persistently low interest rate environment is likely have limited net investment income growth in the fourth quarter, albeit the hike in Dec 2016.
The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. Price and EPS Surprise
Our proven model does not conclusively show that The Hartford is likely to beat on earnings in the quarter. That is because a stock needs to have both a positive Earnings ESP and a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), 2 (Buy) or 3 (Hold) for this to happen. That is not the case here as you will see below.
Zacks ESP: The Hartford has an Earnings ESP of 0.00%. This is because both the Most Accurate estimate and the Zacks Consensus Estimate stand at 95 cents. You can uncover the best stocks to buy or sell before they’re reported with our Earnings ESP Filter.
Zacks Rank: The Hartford has a Zacks Rank #2. Though a favorable Zacks Rank increases the predictive power of ESP, we need a positive ESP to be confident about an earnings beat.
Please note that we caution against Sell-rated stocks (Zacks Rank #4 or 5) going into the earnings announcement, especially when the company is seeing negative estimate revisions.
Stocks to Consider
Here are some other companies from the Multi line insurance space that you may want to consider as these have the right combination of elements to post an earnings beat this quarter
Cigna Corp. (CI - Free Report) has an Earnings ESP of +2.3% and a Zacks Rank #3. The company is expected to report fourth-quarter earnings on Feb 2.
CNO Financial Group, Inc. (CNO - Free Report) has an Earnings ESP of +2.63% and a Zacks Rank #3. The company is expected to report fourth-quarter earnings on Feb 7.
Zacks' Top 10 Stocks for 2017
In addition to the stocks discussed above, would you like to know about our 10 finest tickers for the entirety of 2017?
Who wouldn't? These 10 are painstakingly hand-picked from 4,400 companies covered by the Zacks Rank. They are our primary picks to buy and hold.Be among the very first to see them >>
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The Hartford (HIG): What's in Store this Earnings Season?
The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. (HIG - Free Report) will release fourth-quarter 2016 financial results on Feb 2 after the closing bell. Last quarter, the company delivered a positive earnings surprise of 11.58%.
Let’s see how things are shaping up for this announcement.
Factors Influencing this Past Quarter
We expect the personal lines segment to deliver a solid performance on the back of the new strategies implemented by the leadership team.
In spite of stiff competition, the company has been able to strike a proper balance between underwriting discipline and profitable growth in selected markets. This is expected to have supported growth in the commercial lines as well.
Workers' compensation is likely to continue delivering high margins in the fourth quarter backed by pricing and low cost trends.
The Hartford’s impressive marketing efforts should have boosted top-line growth in the to-be-reported quarter.
The company’s use of digital and dative analytics to improve customer experience thorough its industry-leading customer service centers should also have contributed to revenue growth.
Strategic partnerships signed to expand the mutual funds segment are expected to have bolstered top-line growth.
However, a persistently low interest rate environment is likely have limited net investment income growth in the fourth quarter, albeit the hike in Dec 2016.
The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. Price and EPS Surprise
Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. (The) Price and EPS Surprise | Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. (The) Quote
Earnings Whispers
Our proven model does not conclusively show that The Hartford is likely to beat on earnings in the quarter. That is because a stock needs to have both a positive Earnings ESP and a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), 2 (Buy) or 3 (Hold) for this to happen. That is not the case here as you will see below.
Zacks ESP: The Hartford has an Earnings ESP of 0.00%. This is because both the Most Accurate estimate and the Zacks Consensus Estimate stand at 95 cents. You can uncover the best stocks to buy or sell before they’re reported with our Earnings ESP Filter.
Zacks Rank: The Hartford has a Zacks Rank #2. Though a favorable Zacks Rank increases the predictive power of ESP, we need a positive ESP to be confident about an earnings beat.
Please note that we caution against Sell-rated stocks (Zacks Rank #4 or 5) going into the earnings announcement, especially when the company is seeing negative estimate revisions.
Stocks to Consider
Here are some other companies from the Multi line insurance space that you may want to consider as these have the right combination of elements to post an earnings beat this quarter
American International Group, Inc. (AIG - Free Report) , which is expected to report fourth-quarter earnings on Feb 14, has an Earnings ESP of +1.64% and a Zacks Rank #3. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.
Cigna Corp. (CI - Free Report) has an Earnings ESP of +2.3% and a Zacks Rank #3. The company is expected to report fourth-quarter earnings on Feb 2.
CNO Financial Group, Inc. (CNO - Free Report) has an Earnings ESP of +2.63% and a Zacks Rank #3. The company is expected to report fourth-quarter earnings on Feb 7.
Zacks' Top 10 Stocks for 2017
In addition to the stocks discussed above, would you like to know about our 10 finest tickers for the entirety of 2017?
Who wouldn't? These 10 are painstakingly hand-picked from 4,400 companies covered by the Zacks Rank. They are our primary picks to buy and hold.Be among the very first to see them >>