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

The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. (NYSE:THG) was up 0.7% during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $157.78 and last traded at $156.18. Approximately 22,883 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 87% from the average daily volume of 175,001 shares. The stock had previously closed at $155.06.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have issued reports on THG. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on The Hanover Insurance Group from $164.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. JMP Securities raised their price objective on The Hanover Insurance Group from $160.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Oppenheimer boosted their target price on shares of The Hanover Insurance Group from $165.00 to $177.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Janney Montgomery Scott cut shares of The Hanover Insurance Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $176.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on shares of 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. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $173.29.

The Hanover Insurance Group Trading Down 0.0 %

The stock has a market cap of $5.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.41 and a beta of 0.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 0.40 and a quick ratio of 0.40. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $155.99 and its 200-day moving average price is $142.04.

The Hanover Insurance Group (NYSE:THG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The insurance provider reported $3.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.65 by $0.40. The business had revenue of $1.57 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.67 billion. The Hanover Insurance Group had a net margin of 5.92% and a return on equity of 15.53%. The Hanover Insurance Group’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.19 EPS. On average, research 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 company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be given a dividend of $0.90 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. This represents a $3.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.34%. This is a boost from The Hanover Insurance Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.85. The Hanover Insurance Group’s payout ratio is currently 33.73%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Jeffrey M. Farber sold 1,200 shares of The Hanover Insurance Group stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 85,983 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,906,908.13. The trade was a 1.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 30,551 shares of company stock valued at $4,781,935. Company insiders own 2.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Cetera Advisors LLC acquired a new position in The Hanover Insurance Group in the first quarter valued at approximately $208,000. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its position in The Hanover Insurance Group by 20.0% during the second quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 4,931 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $619,000 after buying an additional 823 shares during the period. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. increased its holdings in The Hanover Insurance Group by 41.4% in the second quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 5,271 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $661,000 after buying an additional 1,544 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. raised its position in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group by 20.7% in the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 753 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $103,000 after acquiring an additional 129 shares during the period. Finally, Raymond James & Associates boosted its stake in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group by 1.5% during the 2nd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 10,048 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,260,000 after acquiring an additional 152 shares in the last quarter. 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.