The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. (NYSE:THG) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Shares of The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. (NYSE:THG) have received a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the eight brokerages that are covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $174.13.

Several research firms have commented on THG. JMP Securities increased their price target on shares of 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. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on shares of The Hanover Insurance Group from $164.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Janney Montgomery Scott lowered 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. 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 report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Piper Sandler boosted 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.

The Hanover Insurance Group Trading Up 0.9 %

NYSE:THG opened at $152.71 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $157.49 and a 200-day simple moving average of $145.69. The Hanover Insurance Group has a one year low of $119.66 and a one year high of $166.13. The firm has a market cap of $5.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.15 and a beta of 0.72. 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 released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The insurance provider reported $3.05 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.65 by $0.40. The firm had revenue of $1.57 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.67 billion. The Hanover Insurance Group had a return on equity of 15.53% and a net margin of 5.92%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.19 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that The Hanover Insurance Group 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 was paid on Friday, December 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 13th were given a dividend of $0.90 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 13th. This represents a $3.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.36%. 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 35.71%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Jeffrey M. Farber sold 12,000 shares of The Hanover Insurance Group stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $155.08, for a total transaction of $1,860,960.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 66,091 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,249,392.28. The trade was a 15.37 % 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 29,051 shares of company stock valued at $4,556,803. Company insiders own 2.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of The Hanover Insurance Group

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of THG. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its stake in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group by 6.2% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 62,275 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $9,633,000 after acquiring an additional 3,615 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in The Hanover Insurance Group by 226.0% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 339 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $52,000 after purchasing an additional 235 shares during the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC boosted its holdings in The Hanover Insurance Group by 344.5% in the third quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 7,254 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,074,000 after purchasing an additional 5,622 shares during the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new stake in The Hanover Insurance Group during the 3rd quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, Sanctuary Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group by 35.0% during the 3rd quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 4,013 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $656,000 after buying an additional 1,040 shares during the last quarter. 86.61% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.