UPDATE: Stifel Nicolaus Raises PT to $28 on Hartford Financial Services on Valuation and Catalysts

Stifel Nicolaus reiterated its Buy rating on Hartford Financial Services

and raised its price target from $25 to $28. Stifel Nicolaus noted, "Shares of HIG currently trade at only 46% of current book value, well below its P&C peers' 109% average and life insurers' 71% average, which we think reflects investors' caution over HIG's restructuring. We think the shares will outperform as core P&C results improve, and as Hartford finalizes and discloses its planned use of the $2.2 billion of statutory capital freed up from its recent unit sales. Our $28 target price represents 53% of 2013E BVPS or about 8.2x our 2014E EPS." Hartford Financial Services closed at $22.30 on Wednesday.