The Hanover Insurance Group (NYSE:THG) Sets New 1-Year High – Here’s Why

The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. (NYSE:THG) hit a new 52-week high during trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $165.06 and last traded at $164.68, with a volume of 35291 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $163.48.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

THG has been the topic of a number of research reports. Oppenheimer lifted their target price on shares of The Hanover Insurance Group from $165.00 to $177.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. JMP Securities lifted 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. Piper Sandler upped their target price on The Hanover Insurance Group from $162.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised 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 note on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price target 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. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $173.40.

The Hanover Insurance Group Stock Performance

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 stock has a market capitalization of $5.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.31 and a beta of 0.70. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $150.50 and a 200 day moving average price of $138.52.

The Hanover Insurance Group (NYSE:THG) last released its 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 Hanover Insurance Group had a return on equity of 15.53% and a net margin of 5.92%. The business had revenue of $1.57 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.67 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.19 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. will post 11.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

The Hanover Insurance Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 13th were paid a dividend of $0.85 per share. 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 2.07%. The Hanover Insurance Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 33.73%.

Insider Buying and Selling at The Hanover Insurance Group

In other news, Director Kathy S. Lane sold 1,884 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $134.23, for a total transaction of $252,889.32. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Warren E. Barnes sold 500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $138.25, for a total transaction of $69,125.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 3,013 shares in the company, valued at $416,547.25. The trade was a 14.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 41,303 shares of company stock worth $6,306,926. Insiders own 2.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd purchased a new position in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group during the second quarter valued at about $25,000. True Wealth Design LLC bought a new stake in The Hanover Insurance Group in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. V Square Quantitative Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group in the second quarter valued at $42,000. Finally, GHP Investment Advisors Inc. increased its position in The Hanover Insurance Group by 64.9% in the second quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 427 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $54,000 after purchasing an additional 168 shares during the last quarter. 86.61% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.