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Hartford Financial (HIG) Q3 Earnings: What's in the Cards?

The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. HIG will release third-quarter 2018 financial results on Oct 25, after the closing bell.

Last reported quarter, the company delivered a positive earnings surprise of 10.78%, benefiting from higher earned premiums, fee income and net investment income.

Let’s see, how things are shaping up for this announcement.

Q3 Expectations

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for earnings is pegged at $1.04, up by a soaring 73.3% year over year.

The company’s Commercial Lines and Personal Auto businesses are expected to keep alive the favorable trend of delivering solid results in the third quarter. Commercial Lines are estimated to aid the company’s top line. The performance is also likely to be fueled by the Group Benefit and Mutual Funds segments.

The company might retain its focus on investment strategy, a disciplined pricing and the book of business management strategy, which seems to have boosted its earnings for the quarter to be reported. Hartford Financial is likely to have witnessed stable loss cost trends during the quarter under review.

Moreover, it has likely reduced its overall costs in the to-be reported quarter by streamlining its underwriting process. It has most likely continued with its efforts to create a long-term sustainable shareholder value.

However, similar to the last few quarters, the company is likely to suffer because of its high exposure to catastrophe loss.

What the Quantitative Model States

Per our proven model, Hartford Financial is not likely to beat on earnings this quarter to be reported. This is because the stock has the right combination of a positive Earnings ESP and a favorable Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), 2 (Buy) or 3 (Hold) for this to happen, which is not the case here.

Earnings ESP: Hartford Financial has an Earnings ESP of -1.10% as the Most Accurate Estimate of $1.03 is pegged lower than the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.04. You can uncover the best stocks to buy or sell before they are reported with our Earnings ESP Filter.

The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. Price and EPS Surprise

The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. Price and EPS Surprise | The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. Quote

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Zacks Rank: Hartford Financial carries a Zacks Rank #3, which increases the predictive power of ESP. However, combined with an Earnings ESP of -1.10%, surprise prediction is left inconclusive.

Conversely, the Sell-rated stocks (#4 or 5) should never be considered going into the earnings announcement, especially when the company is seeing negative estimate revisions.

Stocks to Consider

Some stocks worth considering from the insurance industry with the right combination of elements to surpass estimates this time around are as follows:

Voya Financial, Inc. VOYA has an Earnings ESP of +0.93% and a Zacks Rank #2. The company is set to announce third-quarter earnings on Oct 30. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

American Financial Group, Inc. AFG has an Earnings ESP of +2.46% and is a #3 Ranked player. The company is set to announce third-quarter earnings on Oct 30.  

Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company WLTW has an Earnings ESP of +2.40% and a Zacks Rank of 3. The company is set to release third-quarter earnings on Nov 2.

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Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company (WLTW) : Free Stock Analysis Report
 
Voya Financial, Inc. (VOYA) : Free Stock Analysis Report
 
The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. (HIG) : Free Stock Analysis Report
 
American Financial Group, Inc. (AFG) : Free Stock Analysis Report
 
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