HIG US S&P 500Russell 1000 Earnings call · transcribed from the recording
The Hartford (HIG) · Q3 2026 results and valuation
Share price: $137.18 · 2026-11-11
The Hartford is a holding company that provides property and casualty insurance, employee group benefits insurance, and investment products. It serves individual and business customers in the United States, the United Kingdom, and other international locations. Source: 10-K annual report (2026-02-20)
Results Q3 2026 vs Q2 2026 · previous quarter · published 26 Oct 2026 and 24 Jul 2026
Net income up 1.9% on the previous quarter. Management sounded about as positive as a typical company call, in its script and in answers to analysts.
1 · Numbers
+1.9%
Net income vs Q2 2026
Outlook given
Net income 1.32B vs 1.30B
Revenue −0.6%
Why Against the same quarter last year (+22.5%), net income rose primarily because the underlying combined ratio improved due to lower non-cap property losses, a lower expense ratio, and earned pricing increases outpacing lost cost trends in auto and home.
2 · How management spoke
Typical
More upbeat than 58% of company calls
Answers to analysts: restrained, in line with the script.
Last call it was different: the answers were less upbeat than the script.
3 · What stood out
The acquired business adds approximately $500 million in annual premium and expands The Hartford's product portfolio to include dental and vision.
Valuation
Is The Hartford undervalued?
Reverse DCF on net income from the last full fiscal year (no meaningful free cash flow: a bank, insurer or a year of negative cash flow) (2025-12-31), grown for 10 years, discounted back, plus a terminal value. “Implied growth” is the rate the current price assumes.
At 8.3% growth a year (3-year revenue growth), the model's fair value is $293.11 a share — the stock trades 53% below it. Today's price assumes −2.2% growth a year.
Current price
$137.18
close of 2026-11-11
Market implies growth of iThe yearly free-cash-flow growth, for the next 10 years, that today’s share price already assumes. If you believe the company grows faster than this, the stock is cheap under this model; slower, and it is expensive.
-2.2% for 10 yrs
Fair value / share
$293.11
Buy below
$219.83
Price vs fair value
Undervalued 53%
Price vs buy-below price
Undervalued 38%
Read between the lines
-
Figure
The underlying combined ratio improved 2.9 points because earned pricing increases outpaced lost cost trends in both auto and home segments.
Source quote
“The underlying combined ratio improved 2.9 points in the quarter, driven by earned pricing increases outpacing lost cost trends in both auto and home.”
-
Figure
Small business written premium grew 7% with an underlying combined ratio of 85.2, which outperformed the company's long-term average.
Source quote
“In small business, written premium grew 7% with an exceptional underlying combined ratio of 85.2, which outperformed our long-term average.”
-
Figure
The acquired business adds approximately $500 million in annual premium and expands the product portfolio to include dental and vision.
Source quote
“The acquired business brings approximately $500 million in annual premium and expands the product portfolio to include dental and vision.”
-
Figure
HIG announced a 12% increase in the common quarterly dividend, continuing a track record of annual dividend increases supported by earnings power and capital generation.
Source quote
“In terms of capital management, yesterday we announced a 12% increase in the common quarterly dividend, continuing a track record of annual dividend increases supported by earnings power and strong capital generation.”
-
Figure
Quarter core earnings reached $956 million, or $3.50 per diluted share, with a trailing 12-month core earnings ROE of 17.9%.
Source quote
“Third quarter core earnings were $956 million, or $3.50 per diluted share with a trailing 12-month core earnings ROE of 17.9%.”
4 more
-
Figure
The company repurchased 3.4 million shares for $475 million during the quarter as part of its share repurchase program.
Source quote
“During the quarter, we repurchased 3.4 million shares under our share repurchase program for $475 million.”
-
Figure
Business insurance core earnings were $731 million with written premium growth of 6% and an underlying combined ratio of 90.1.
Source quote
“Moving to results, in business insurance, core earnings were $731 million with written premium growth of 6% and an underlying combined ratio of 90.1.”
-
Figure
Hartford is pulling the levers that it can in terms of segmentation, and certainly it is working to get price increases into its filings in for 27.
-
Guidance
The company expects a lot of stability in its outlook for the upcoming period.
Tone
How upbeat the language was, compared with other companiesiTone counts positive minus negative finance words, adjusted for length. Executives mostly speak positively, so the labels compare each call with every company's latest call: “typical” is the middle third, “very upbeat” the top tenth, “cautious” the bottom tenth.. Dot: Q3 2026. Ring: Q2 2026.
Script and answers carried a similar tone, so the script's message held up under questioning.
Sentences that drove the tone
“In terms of capital management, yesterday we announced a 12% increase in the common quarterly dividend, continuing a track record of annual dividend increases supported by earnings power and strong...”
“Deep underwriting expertise combined with market-leading service capabilities positioned small business to continue generating profitable growth.”
“Fully insured ongoing premium grew 4%, reflecting strong new business sales, increased exposure on existing accounts, and book persistency above 90%.”
Full figures
USD · SEC EDGAR XBRL (10-Q, period end 2026-09-30)
| Metric | Q3 2026period end 2026-09-30 | Q2 2026period end 2026-06-30 | Change | Q3 2025 | YoY |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | 7.22B | 7.26B | −0.6% | 6.95B | +3.9% |
| Operating income | 1.58B | 1.23B | +28.6% | 1.24B | +27.4% |
| Net income | 1.32B | 1.30B | +1.9% | 1.08B | +22.5% |
| EPS | 4.82 | 4.68 | +3.0% | 3.77 | +27.9% |
| P/E today 8.1 | 7.4 | 8.6 | −1.2 | 10.9 | −3.5 |
Topics
Most discussed now
- More recently, as president, he has successfully led business performance, strategy, and enterprise-wide execution.
- As I reflect on the last 13 years, the Hartford broadened its capabilities by investing in transformative technology while expanding...
- The Hartford delivered another quarter of strong results reflecting disciplined execution across the enterprise.
Faded since Q2 2026
- Fading Aggregate property pricing for small business package, and middle market general industries, remain fairly steady in the mid single...
- Fading Employee benefits had another quarter of strong premium growth, with a core earnings margin of 7.4%, and the investment portfolio...
- Fading The underlying combined ratio improved 2.5 points from the prior year, primarily due to lower non cat property losses and...
- Fading Hartford's 6 percent to 7 percent long term margin is always been the view.
Latest announcements
Official filings, newest first. Summaries are generated from each filing and its attachment; every figure is checked against the source.
- Results of operations · SEC 8-K
The Hartford reported third-quarter 2026 net income of $1.3 billion, an increase of 23% from $1.1 billion in the third quarter of 2025.
- Director or officer change; Regulation FD disclosure · SEC 8-K
The Hartford announced that A. Morris Tooker will become CEO on March 1, 2027, succeeding Christopher Swift, who will transition to the role of executive chair.
- Agreement terminated; Regulation FD disclosure · SEC 8-K
The Hartford Fire Insurance Company received a $1.12 billion cash payment from National Indemnity Company to terminate a reinsurance agreement, resulting in a before-tax net gain of $497 million for the period ended September 30, 2026.
- Director or officer change; Regulation FD disclosure · SEC 8-K
The Hartford appointed Priscilla Almodovar to its Board of Directors, effective September 1, 2026, to serve on the Finance, Investment and Risk Management Committee and the Audit Committee.
- Results of operations · SEC 8-K
The Hartford reported second-quarter 2026 net income of $1.3 billion, up 31% from $990 million in the second quarter of 2025, and authorized a new $4.2 billion share repurchase program.
- Director or officer change · SEC 8-K
The Hartford appointed Randy Larsen to its Board of Directors effective September 1, 2026, to serve on the Finance, Investment and Risk Management and Nominating and Corporate Governance committees.
- Other events · SEC 8-K
Wellington Management will acquire Hartford Funds for $300 million in cash plus ongoing economic participation, with the transaction's expected net present value estimated at $1.9 billion.
- Shareholder vote results · SEC 8-K · routine
Balance sheet & ownership
From SEC filings; short interest is FINRA data via Yahoo. Collected 2026-10-29.
Dilution
weighted-average basic shares, per quarter. Change: -3.9% YoY, -1.2% QoQ.
| Quarter | Shares |
|---|---|
| Q1 2025 | 286.6M |
| Q2 2025 | 283.7M |
| Q3 2025 | 280.9M |
| Q1 2026 | 276.1M |
| Q2 2026 | 273.3M |
| Q3 2026 | 270.0M |
Shares outstanding: 267.4M (2026-10-23)
Insider transactions
Form 4 open-market trades (codes S/P), trailing 12 months. 47 filings parsed.
Sold by insiders
417.5K shares
$57.4M · 19 transactions
Bought by insiders
0 shares
0 transactions
Net direction
net selling
Catalyst calendar
management-stated targets — from the latest earnings call; plans, not promises.
-
January 2027
effective date of a 12% increase in the common quarterly dividend
Source quote
“The investment portfolio generated excellent net investment income, and earnings in capital generation supported a 12% increase in the common quarterly dividend, effective January 2027.”
-
by year end
E &S binding reaching $500 million
Source quote
“Growth was led by package, our largest product line, and E &S binding, which is on pace to reached $500 million by year end, up from less than $100 million five years ago.”
-
as early as December 1st
closing of the sale of Hartford Funds
Source quote
“As it relates to the sale of Hartford Funds, we are progressing towards closing, which could occur as early as December 1st, subject to standard regulatory and fund approvals.”
-
2027
expected core earnings impact of the acquisition to be modestly dilutive
Source quote
“Excluding the amortization, we expect the core earnings impact of the acquisition to be modestly dilutive in 2027 and to improve each year as the business integrates and scales.”
-
January 5, 2027
payment of increased common quarterly dividend
Source quote
“As Chris mentioned, we increased our common quarterly dividend by 12% to $0.67 per share payable on January 5, 2027.”