The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. (NYSE:THG) to Issue $0.90 Quarterly Dividend

The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. (NYSE:THG) announced a quarterly dividend on Monday, February 24th, RTT News reports. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a dividend of 0.90 per share by the insurance provider on Friday, March 28th. This represents a $3.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.18%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th.

The Hanover Insurance Group has increased its dividend payment by an average of 6.6% per year over the last three years and has raised its dividend every year for the last 20 years. The Hanover Insurance Group has a payout ratio of 22.6% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities analysts expect The Hanover Insurance Group to earn $15.75 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $3.60 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 22.9%.

The Hanover Insurance Group Stock Performance

Shares of THG stock opened at $165.16 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 0.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $158.95 and a 200-day simple moving average of $154.85. The company has a market cap of $5.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.13 and a beta of 0.65. The Hanover Insurance Group has a 12-month low of $119.66 and a 12-month high of $173.30.

The Hanover Insurance Group (NYSE:THG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The insurance provider reported $5.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.45 by $1.87. The Hanover Insurance Group had a return on equity of 18.01% and a net margin of 6.83%. On average, equities analysts forecast that The Hanover Insurance Group will post 14.37 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently commented on THG. 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. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of The Hanover Insurance Group from $161.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Barclays raised The Hanover Insurance Group to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on The Hanover Insurance Group from $165.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on The Hanover Insurance Group from $176.00 to $179.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, The Hanover Insurance Group presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $175.25.

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.