Hartford Financial Jumps on Takeover Rumors (HIG)

Shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. HIG have surged off of their lows this morning on renewed takeover chatter. Allianze AG is once again the rumored suitor. Shares are currently higher by 1.50%, trading at $27.12. The stock was recently cratered on the back of the disaster in Japan, but have since recovered the 200-day moving averages and are moving higher. Call volume is running abnormally high on the name this morning, with over 10,000 calls trading versus only 136 puts. The Hartford Financial Services Group typically trades between 6,000 and 11,000 calls in an entire session. The action is heaviest in the front month, where the $28, $29, and $30 calls are all attracting buyers. The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. (together with its subsidiaries, The Hartford) is an insurance and financial services company. The company maintains a retail mutual fund operation, whereby the company, through wholly-owned subsidiaries, provides investment management and administrative services to The Hartford Mutual Funds, Inc. and The Hartford Mutual Funds II, Inc., consisting of 52 mutual funds, as of December 31, 2010.