The Hanover Insurance Group (NYSE:THG) Trading Up 0.8% – What’s Next?

The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. (NYSE:THG) shares were up 0.8% on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $164.51 and last traded at $164.38. Approximately 17,867 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 90% from the average daily volume of 175,167 shares. The stock had previously closed at $163.04.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on THG shares. JMP Securities upped their target price on The Hanover Insurance Group from $160.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Piper Sandler upped their target price on The Hanover Insurance Group from $162.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on The Hanover Insurance Group from $164.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Janney Montgomery Scott downgraded The Hanover Insurance Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $176.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, Bank of America increased their price target on shares of The Hanover Insurance Group from $158.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Three investment 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 company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $173.83.

The Hanover Insurance Group Stock Performance

The stock has a market cap of $5.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.30 and a beta of 0.70. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $153.40 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $140.27. 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 Hanover Insurance Group (NYSE:THG) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The insurance provider reported $3.05 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 the consensus estimate of $1.67 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.19 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. will post 11.43 earnings per share for the current year.

The Hanover Insurance Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 27th. Investors of record on Friday, September 13th were paid a dividend of $0.85 per share. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.07%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 13th. The Hanover Insurance Group’s payout ratio is currently 33.73%.

Insider Activity at The Hanover Insurance Group

In related news, EVP Jeffrey M. Farber sold 6,114 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $162.36, for a total value of $992,669.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 54,091 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,782,214.76. This represents a 10.16 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 30,551 shares of company stock worth $4,781,935. Company insiders own 2.50% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On The Hanover Insurance Group

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in The Hanover Insurance Group by 14,711.0% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 552,450 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $81,823,000 after buying an additional 548,720 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its stake in The Hanover Insurance Group by 10.7% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,484,592 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $219,883,000 after purchasing an additional 143,339 shares in the last quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. bought a new stake in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group during the second quarter worth $14,684,000. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group by 116.7% in the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 114,643 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $14,150,000 after buying an additional 61,738 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC bought a new position in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group in the second quarter valued at about $4,284,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.61% of the company’s stock.

About The Hanover Insurance Group

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.