(Bloomberg) -- Hartford Financial Services Group Inc., the insurer that sold life units to focus on property-casualty coverage, increased its share buyback by $1.6 billion and raised the dividend 17 percent as second-quarter profit beat analysts’ estimates.
The insurer posted net income of $413 million, or 96 cents a share, compared with a loss of $467 million, or $1, a year earlier that was driven by costs tied to the sale of a Japan annuity business, according to a statement Monday from Hartford. Operating profit, which excludes some investment results, was 91 cents a share, while analysts had predicted 77 cents according to the average estimate in a Bloomberg survey.
The insurer’s shares gained 9.8 percent this month in New York trading amid speculation that it could become a takeover target after Ace Ltd. agreed to buy Chubb Corp. for more than $28 billion, accelerating the push for mergers and acquisitions in the industry. Chief Executive Officer Chris Swift and his top deputies are scheduled to discuss results on a conference call Tuesday and will probably face questions about possible deals.
Recommended For You
Want to continue reading?
Become a Free PropertyCasualty360 Digital Reader
Your access to unlimited PropertyCasualty360 content isn’t changing.
Once you are an ALM digital member, you’ll receive:
- Breaking insurance news and analysis, on-site and via our newsletters and custom alerts
- Weekly Insurance Speak podcast featuring exclusive interviews with industry leaders
- Educational webcasts, white papers, and ebooks from industry thought leaders
- Critical converage of the employee benefits and financial advisory markets on our other ALM sites, BenefitsPRO and ThinkAdvisor
Already have an account? Sign In Now
© 2025 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
