Hartford Financial (HIG) Q2 Earnings Beat on Commercial Lines

Core Insights - The article discusses the financial performance of various insurance companies, highlighting earnings estimates, revenue growth, and operational metrics for the second quarter of 2024. Company Performance - PLMR's second-quarter 2024 earnings estimate is $1.11 per share, reflecting a 29.1% increase from the previous year [2] - Prudential Financial's earnings have beaten estimates once in the last four quarters, with an average surprise of 0.23% [3] - The Hartford Financial Services Group reported adjusted operating earnings of $2.50 per share, exceeding estimates by 10.6% and showing a 33% year-over-year increase [9] - Hartford's earned premiums rose 6.9% year over year to $5.6 billion, although it missed the consensus estimate by 0.9% [11] - Total benefits, losses, and expenses for Hartford increased 3.7% year over year to $5.6 billion [12] - The underlying combined ratio for Hartford's Commercial Lines improved by 90 basis points to 87.4% [13] - Group Benefits' loss ratio improved by 320 basis points to 68.9% due to lower claim severity [16] - Hartford exited the second quarter with cash of $154 million, up from $126 million at the end of 2023 [19] - Total stockholders' equity for Hartford improved from $15.3 billion to $15.7 billion [20] - Core earnings' return on equity for Hartford improved by 380 basis points to 17.4% [21] Revenue and Investment Metrics - Hartford's operating revenues amounted to $4.46 billion, a 9.4% year-over-year increase, but missed the consensus mark [24] - Pre-tax net investment income for Hartford grew 11.5% year over year to $602 million, although it missed the consensus estimate [25] - The Property and Casualty segment's revenues rose 8.5% year over year to $3.5 billion, missing estimates by 3.1% [27] - The segment's core earnings climbed 11.8% year over year to $551 million [27] - Total assets for Hartford increased to $79 billion from $76.8 billion at the end of 2023 [31] Shareholder Returns - Hartford returned $490 million to shareholders through share buybacks and dividends, with a remaining buyback capacity of $648 million as of June 30, 2024 [33]