Based on the aggregated intelligence of 125,000-plus investors participating in Motley Fool CAPS, the Fool's free investing community, Hartford Financial Services (NYSE:HIG) has received a distressing two-star ranking.

With that in mind, let's take a closer look at Hartford Financial's business, and see what CAPS investors are saying about the stock right now.

Hartford Financial facts

Headquarters (founded)

Hartford, Conn. (1810)

Market Cap

$3.5 billion

Industry

Multiline Insurance

TTM Revenue

$14.33 billion

Management

Chairman/CEO Ramani Ayer

President/COO Thomas Marra

Return on Equity (average, last five years and TTM)

11.6% and (8.6%)

Competitors

AIG (NYSE:AIG),

MetLife (NYSE:MET)

CAPS members bearish on HIG also bearish on:

Citigroup (NYSE:C),

General Motors (NYSE:GM)

CAPS members bullish on HIG also bullish on:

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC),

General Electric (NYSE:GE)

Sources: Capital IQ, a division of Standard & Poor's, and Motley Fool CAPS. TTM = trailing 12 months.

Over on CAPS, some 20% of the 505 members who have rated Hartford Financial believe the stock will underperform the S&P 500 going forward. These bears include All-Star jester112358, who is ranked in the top 10% of our community, and bigpeach.

Two days ago, jester112358 made a simple case against the stock: "They're going to have difficulties covering their losses."

In a pitch from the same day, bigpeach correctly warned our community of today's ugly earnings debacle:

Life insurers are in big trouble. Their capital bases are larger than other financial institutions, thanks to strict regulation, so to this point they've been able to absorb their losses. Unfortunately, that capital is rapidly being eroded, and Hartford has one of the weaker capital positions. The length of their portfolios means writedowns will be large, and issuers of variable products, like Hartford, will suffer badly with the equity markets depressed. Hartford is probably going to run out of capital before this is all over, and I don't know where they're going to get it.

What do you think about Hartford Financial, or any other stock for that matter? Make your voice heard on Motley Fool CAPS today. More than 125,000 investors are waiting to hear what you have to say. CAPS is 100% free, so simply click here to get started.