The Hanover Insurance Group (NYSE:THG) Given New $176.00 Price Target at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods

The Hanover Insurance Group (NYSE:THG) had its target price lifted by Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $170.00 to $176.00 in a report released on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods currently has a market perform rating on the insurance provider’s stock.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently commented on THG. Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on shares of 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. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on shares of The Hanover Insurance Group in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $170.00 price objective for the company. JMP Securities lifted their price objective on shares of The Hanover Insurance Group from $160.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Janney Montgomery Scott cut shares of The Hanover Insurance Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $176.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on shares of The Hanover Insurance Group from $161.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $174.88.

The Hanover Insurance Group Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE THG opened at $147.33 on Friday. 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 company has a market cap of $5.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.62 and a beta of 0.72. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $157.59 and its two-hundred day moving average is $146.12. The Hanover Insurance Group has a 52-week low of $119.66 and a 52-week high of $166.13.

The Hanover Insurance Group (NYSE:THG) last announced 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 company had revenue of $1.57 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.19 EPS. As a group, 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. Investors of record on Friday, December 13th were paid a dividend of $0.90 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 13th. This is a boost from The Hanover Insurance Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.85. This represents a $3.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.44%. The Hanover Insurance Group’s payout ratio is currently 35.71%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other The Hanover Insurance Group news, EVP Jeffrey M. Farber sold 6,114 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $162.36, for a total value of $992,669.04. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 54,091 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,782,214.76. The trade was a 10.16 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 28,900 shares of company stock valued at $4,534,151. Company insiders own 2.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On The Hanover Insurance Group

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd bought a new position in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $25,000. True Wealth Design LLC bought a new position in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. V Square Quantitative Management LLC bought a new position in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new position in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group by 226.0% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 339 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $52,000 after acquiring an additional 235 shares in the last quarter. 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.