Hagerty, Inc. (HGTY) Stock Price & How to Invest

Hagerty, Inc. is an automotive enthusiast brand and specialty insurance provider built around classic, collector, and enthusiast vehicles. Its Insurance segment (roughly 92% of revenue) writes agreed-value policies on vehicles that standard auto carriers price poorly, covering ~2.9 million vehicles in force across ~1.76 million policies. Around that sits a membership business (the Hagerty Drivers Club, with ~940,000 paid members) and a Marketplace segment that runs collector car auctions, classifieds, financing, and the widely cited Hagerty Valuation Tools price database.

The investment picture in 2026 turns on one structural change. Effective January 1, 2026, Hagerty moved to a fronting arrangement and now retains 100% of the premium it writes, rather than ceding the bulk of it to Markel. That mechanically inflates earned premium, wipes out most of the old commission revenue, and loads the year with roughly $190 million of transitional costs (deferred ceding commissions on pre-2026 policies), producing a guided full-year net loss even as written premium grows. The underlying franchise looks intact: retention near 88.5%, a Q1 combined ratio of ~86.5%, and adjusted EBITDA up ~77% year over year. What the market is really pricing is whether that reset is genuinely one-time, and whether a softening mass-market collector car cycle slows the policy growth underneath it.

The 2026 reported numbers are hard to read: guidance calls for total revenue down ~11%-12% and a net loss of ~$41 million to $51 million on ~$190 million of transitional costs, so anyone underwriting the stock is relying on adjusted EBITDA and written premium rather than GAAP earnings. Retaining 100% of premium also means retaining 100% of the underwriting risk, and a bad catastrophe year (collector cars concentrate in flood and hurricane-exposed regions) would now hit Hagerty directly rather than a reinsurer. The underlying collector car market is soft outside the top end, with the Hagerty Market Rating starting 2026 near a 15-year low and sub-$250,000 values broadly falling, which pressures both Marketplace take rates and insured values over time. The share structure is concentrated: State Farm holds a majority of Class A, Markel holds a large Class V and preferred position, and the founding family controls voting through Class V, leaving public holders with limited influence and a thin float. Finally, the forward earnings multiple is distorted by the transition year, so headline valuation ratios are unusually unreliable here.

7 analysts publish price targets on HGTY, averaging $13.43 against a $11.55 price as of August 2026, or +16.3%. The published targets run from $11.00 to $15.00, a narrow spread, and the ratings split 3 buy, 4 hold, 1 sell. Over the last six months there have been 3 raises and 2 cuts among the published actions. A price target is what an analyst published on a date, not a prediction, and sell-side ratings skew positive across the whole market.

Read the full HGTY forecast and price target for the target table, the recent rating actions by firm, and how the consensus has shifted.

We give no verdict on Hagerty, Inc.. Both cases are real, which is why the question is contested at all, so here is the strongest version of each.

The case for buying. The Markel transition and full premium retention. From January 2026 Hagerty assumes 100% of the premium under a fronting structure instead of ceding most of it, which lifted Q1 earned premium ~42% to ~$240 million while commission and fee revenue fell ~84%. The most optimistic published target, $15.00, assumes this works close to its best case.

The case against. The 2026 reported numbers are hard to read: guidance calls for total revenue down ~11%-12% and a net loss of ~$41 million to $51 million on ~$190 million of transitional costs, so anyone underwriting the stock is relying on adjusted EBITDA and written premium rather than GAAP earnings. The most pessimistic target, $11.00, is roughly what HGTY is worth if this bites instead.

Read the full bull and bear case on HGTY, including what would have to change to break either one. Walnut is not an investment adviser.

A simple financial snapshot. These are approximations and refresh quarterly; for current figures see Hagerty, Inc.'s investor relations page or your broker.

• Revenue (TTM): ~$1.44B
• Q1 2026 written premium: ~$289M (+18% YoY)
• Q1 2026 adjusted EBITDA: ~$85M (+77% YoY)
• Market cap: ~$4.0B
• Trailing P/E: ~43x
• 2026 guidance: Written premium +15%-16%, adj. EBITDA ~$236M-$247M, net loss ~$(51)M-$(41)M

Hagerty trades around $11-$12 per Class A share for a market cap near $4.0 billion on ~$1.44 billion of trailing revenue. Trailing P/E of roughly 43x sits on a net income figure distorted by the Markel transition, and the forward multiple screens far higher because 2026 is guided to a loss, so most of the market's attention is on adjusted EBITDA and written premium growth instead. Q2 2026 results are scheduled for August 5, 2026, which is the first clean look at whether the transition math is tracking guidance.

Other names that sit close to HGTY: same theme, named as a direct competitor, or held beside it in the same funds. Each entry says which. Worth a look if you are thinking about diversification within a thesis rather than concentration on one ticker.

There are three common ways to get HGTY exposure. Buy shares (or fractional shares) directly at any major broker. Hold an ETF that includes it, which spreads the position across many companies. Or build it into a focused thematic portfolio, so HGTY sits alongside other stocks that express the same thesis.

Walnut takes the portfolio route. Describe a thesis where HGTY fits (for example “AI infrastructure” or “dividend-growth large-caps”) and the AI proposes 5 to 6 constituents with target weights. You review the plan and fund it through your own broker when you're ready.

New to this? Start with how to invest in stocks, see how to analyze a stock with AI, or compare the best AI stock analyzers.

Hagerty pairs a genuinely durable niche insurance franchise with a one-off accounting reset, so the debate is whether the underlying premium growth shows through once the transition costs roll off.

Whether HGTY is worth buying today depends more on your time horizon and what you already hold than on any single call. We walk through valuation, what would have to go right, and the risks in is HGTY a buy or a sell?, and where the stock could go from here in the HGTY stock forecast.

For income investors, whether HGTY pays a dividend and how the payout looks is covered in does HGTY pay a dividend? And to weigh HGTY against a peer, read the full side-by-side comparisons: HGTY vs MKL and HGTY vs CB.