The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. HIG is scheduled to report first-quarter results after the closing bell on Apr 28. In the last quarter, this company delivered a 9.18% positive earnings surprise. Let’s see how things are shaping up for this announcement.Factors Influencing this Past QuarterThe quarter is likely to have benefitted from focus on expanding digital capabilities in Small Commercial and Middle markets. The Talcott segment is likely to have performed wellThe quarter has witnessed new sales activity with solid retention. Strong underwriting and cost management are likely to drive margins. Group Benefits business is also expected to have performed well.Share buybacks should also support the bottom line.However, pricing and competition may have limited the desired upside in the to-be-reported quarter.The Hartford delivered earnings surprises in three of last four quarters, with an average beat of 5.21%. The Hartford’s share price has been fluctuating over the last few days. We wait to see how the stock reacts to the company’s first-quarter performance.Earnings WhispersOur proven model does not conclusively show that The Hartford will beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate in the first quarter. That is because a stock needs to have both a positive Earnings ESP and a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) or at least 2 (Buy) or 3 (Hold) for this to happen. But this is not the case here as elaborated below.Zacks ESP: The Hartford has an Earnings ESP of 0.00%. This is because both the Most Accurate estimate and the Zacks Consensus Estimate stand at $1.03.Zacks Rank: The Hartford has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold), which increases the predictive power of ESP. However, an ESP of 0.00% makes surprise prediction difficult.Stocks to ConsiderHere are some other companies you may want to consider as these have also have the right combination of elements to post an earnings beat this quarter:Radian Group, Inc. RDN has an Earnings ESP of +26.67% and a Zacks Rank #3. The company is slated to report first-quarter earnings on Apr 27.Cigna Corp. CI has an Earnings ESP of +0.46% and a Zacks Rank #3. The company is set to report first-quarter earnings on May 6.Prudential Financial, Inc. PRU has an Earnings ESP of +0.42% and a Zacks Rank #2. The company is likely to report first-quarter earnings on May 4.Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free reportWant the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report RADIAN GRP INC (RDN): Free Stock Analysis Report CIGNA CORP (CI): Free Stock Analysis Report HARTFORD FIN SV (HIG): Free Stock Analysis Report PRUDENTIAL FINL (PRU): Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Zacks Investment Research