The Hanover Insurance Group (NYSE:THG) Given New $170.00 Price Target at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods

The Hanover Insurance Group (NYSE:THG) had its price target upped by Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $164.00 to $170.00 in a report released on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a market perform rating on the insurance provider’s stock.

THG has been the subject of several other reports. Oppenheimer increased their price objective on The Hanover Insurance Group from $165.00 to $177.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Piper Sandler raised their price target on shares of The Hanover Insurance Group from $162.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of 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. Finally, JMP Securities lifted their target price on shares of The Hanover Insurance Group from $160.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $173.40.

The Hanover Insurance Group Stock Performance

The Hanover Insurance Group stock opened at $159.62 on Thursday. 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 has a market cap of $5.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.84 and a beta of 0.70. The Hanover Insurance Group has a fifty-two week low of $112.22 and a fifty-two week high of $160.23. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $148.87 and its 200-day simple moving average is $137.34.

The Hanover Insurance Group (NYSE:THG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The insurance provider reported $3.05 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.65 by $0.40. The firm had revenue of $1.57 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.67 billion. The Hanover Insurance Group had a net margin of 5.92% and a return on equity of 15.53%. The company’s quarterly revenue 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. As a group, equities research analysts predict that The Hanover Insurance Group will post 11.29 EPS for the current year.

The Hanover Insurance Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 27th. Investors of record on Friday, September 13th were issued a $0.85 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 13th. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.13%. The Hanover Insurance Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 33.73%.

Insider Buying and Selling at The Hanover Insurance Group

In other news, EVP Jeffrey M. Farber sold 12,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, October 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $155.08, for a total transaction of $1,860,960.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 66,091 shares in the company, valued at $10,249,392.28. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, EVP Jeffrey M. Farber sold 4,800 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $150.41, for a total value of $721,968.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 80,790 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,151,623.90. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Jeffrey M. Farber sold 12,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $155.08, for a total value of $1,860,960.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 66,091 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,249,392.28. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 29,303 shares of company stock worth $4,372,203 over the last ninety days. 2.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of The Hanover Insurance Group

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new position in The Hanover Insurance Group during the 2nd quarter worth $25,000. V Square Quantitative Management LLC bought a new stake in The Hanover Insurance Group during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in The Hanover Insurance Group in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $42,000. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. increased its position in The Hanover Insurance Group by 64.9% in the 2nd quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 427 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $54,000 after buying an additional 168 shares during the period. Finally, Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new position in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group during the third quarter worth approximately $60,000. 86.61% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.