The Hanover Insurance Group (NYSE:THG) Shares Down 0.2% – Time to Sell?

The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. (NYSE:THG) dropped 0.2% during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $155.25 and last traded at $156.00. Approximately 15,114 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 91% from the average daily volume of 175,134 shares. The stock had previously closed at $156.31.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently issued reports on THG. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of The Hanover Insurance Group from $158.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. JMP Securities raised their price objective on shares of The Hanover Insurance Group from $160.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Oppenheimer increased their price target on The Hanover Insurance Group from $165.00 to $177.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Piper Sandler increased their target price on The Hanover Insurance Group from $162.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on shares of The Hanover Insurance Group from $164.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $173.29.

The Hanover Insurance Group Trading Down 0.6 %

The firm has a market cap of $5.60 billion, a PE ratio of 15.48 and a beta of 0.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 0.40 and a current ratio of 0.40. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $155.81 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $141.95.

The Hanover Insurance Group (NYSE:THG) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The insurance provider reported $3.05 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.65 by $0.40. The Hanover Insurance Group had a return on equity of 15.53% and a net margin of 5.92%. The firm had revenue of $1.57 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.67 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.19 earnings per share. The Hanover Insurance Group’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.2% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. will post 11.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

The Hanover Insurance Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 27th. Investors of record on Friday, December 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.90 per share. This represents a $3.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.32%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. This is a boost from The Hanover Insurance Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.85. The Hanover Insurance Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 35.71%.

Insider Buying and Selling at The Hanover Insurance Group

In related news, EVP Jeffrey M. Farber sold 1,200 shares of The Hanover Insurance Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $150.11, for a total transaction of $180,132.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 85,983 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,906,908.13. This trade represents a 1.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 30,551 shares of company stock valued at $4,781,935. 2.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On The Hanover Insurance Group

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Captrust Financial Advisors lifted its stake in The Hanover Insurance Group by 4.7% in the 3rd quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 1,822 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $270,000 after purchasing an additional 81 shares in the last quarter. Lecap Asset Management Ltd. increased its stake in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter. Lecap Asset Management Ltd. now owns 4,202 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $622,000 after acquiring an additional 84 shares during the last quarter. Lowe Brockenbrough & Co. Inc. raised its holdings in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. Lowe Brockenbrough & Co. Inc. now owns 14,693 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $2,176,000 after acquiring an additional 91 shares during the period. Signaturefd LLC boosted its position in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group by 8.7% during the 2nd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,336 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $168,000 after acquiring an additional 107 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. grew its holdings in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group by 35.4% in the third quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 417 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $62,000 after purchasing an additional 109 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.61% of the company’s stock.

The Hanover Insurance Group Company Profile

The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc, through its subsidiaries, provides various property and casualty insurance products and services in the United States. The company operates through four segments: Core Commercial, Specialty, Personal Lines, and Other. The Commercial Lines segment offers commercial multiple peril, commercial automobile, workers' compensation, and other commercial lines coverage.