The Hanover Insurance Group (NYSE:THG) Shares Up 0.7% – Here’s Why

The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. (NYSE:THG)’s stock price was up 0.7% on Monday . The company traded as high as $155.51 and last traded at $155.21. Approximately 34,180 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 80% from the average daily volume of 174,859 shares. The stock had previously closed at $154.16.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on THG. JMP Securities upped their target price 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. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on The Hanover Insurance Group in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $170.00 price objective on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on 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. Piper Sandler boosted their price target 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, Bank of America increased their price objective on The Hanover Insurance Group from $158.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $173.29.

The Hanover Insurance Group Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of $5.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.40 and a beta of 0.71. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $156.09 and its 200 day simple moving average is $142.37. The company has a current ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 0.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27.

The Hanover Insurance Group (NYSE:THG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The insurance provider reported $3.05 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.67 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.19 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 3.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. will post 11.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

The Hanover Insurance Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 27th. Investors of record on Friday, December 13th will be given a dividend of $0.90 per share. This is a positive change from The Hanover Insurance Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.85. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. This represents a $3.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.32%. The Hanover Insurance Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 35.71%.

Insider Buying and Selling at The Hanover Insurance Group

In other news, EVP Jeffrey M. Farber sold 1,200 shares of the 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 represents a 1.38 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 30,551 shares of company stock worth $4,781,935. Insiders own 2.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On The Hanover Insurance Group

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of THG. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its position in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group by 104.4% in the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 11,967 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,772,000 after acquiring an additional 6,112 shares in the last quarter. Markel Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group by 5.8% during the 3rd quarter. Markel Group Inc. now owns 254,000 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $37,620,000 after buying an additional 14,000 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its position in The Hanover Insurance Group by 11.5% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 170,615 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $25,270,000 after purchasing an additional 17,583 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in The Hanover Insurance Group by 5.1% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 369,545 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $54,733,000 after buying an additional 17,856 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hodges Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in The Hanover Insurance Group by 56.3% during the third quarter. Hodges Capital Management Inc. now owns 51,414 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $7,615,000 after purchasing an additional 18,524 shares in the last quarter. 86.61% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.