Hartford’s upped earnings guidance boosts stock

Shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group Inc. jumped this morning on news that the company has raised its earnings guidance for the end of the year. The Hartford’s shares opened at $9.30 and then spiked as high as $11.38 this morning after the Connecticut-based carrier stepped up its guidance range from $4.70 to $4.90. In October, the company predicted core earnings to fall in a range of $4.30 to $4.50. Chief executive Ramani Ayer assured investors that the company had sufficient capital to keep its risk based capital ratio at 325%, even if the Standard and Poor’s 500 stock index falls to 700 at the end of the year. The carrier would still have $2.85 billion of existing capital resources untapped, he said in a statement. Mr. Ayer also said that the company’s nearly $90 billion investment portfolio is economically sound and that its commercial mortgage backed securities are highly rated and broadly diversified. Last month, shares of life insurers tumbled as investors feared that carriers, including The Hartford, were vulnerable to CMBS-related losses from defaults on the mortgages. Additionally, he stressed the company’s plan to cut the risk in its variable annuities business. The Hartford is reassessing its product features and pricing with the intention of “substantially” reducing risk from its U.S. and international VA business, Mr. Ayer said.