The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. (NYSE:THG) Receives Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Shares of The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. (NYSE:THG) have received a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the eight research firms that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and four have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month price target among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $174.13.

A number of brokerages have weighed in on THG. Piper Sandler increased their target price on shares of The Hanover Insurance Group from $162.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on shares of The Hanover Insurance Group in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $170.00 price target on the stock. Oppenheimer lifted their price objective 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 increased their target price on The Hanover Insurance Group from $160.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on 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.

The Hanover Insurance Group Trading Down 1.4 %

NYSE:THG opened at $152.44 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $157.26 and its 200 day moving average is $144.75. The Hanover Insurance Group has a 12 month low of $119.66 and a 12 month high of $166.13. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.49 billion, a PE ratio of 15.12 and a beta of 0.71. The company has a current ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 0.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27.

The Hanover Insurance Group (NYSE:THG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The insurance provider reported $3.05 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 firm had revenue of $1.57 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.67 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.19 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that The Hanover Insurance Group will post 11.41 earnings per share for the current year.

The Hanover Insurance Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 13th were issued a $0.90 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 13th. This represents a $3.60 annualized dividend and a dividend 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 dividend payout ratio is presently 35.71%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other The Hanover Insurance Group news, EVP Jeffrey M. Farber sold 4,800 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $150.41, for a total value of $721,968.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 80,790 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,151,623.90. The trade was a 5.61 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 29,051 shares of company stock worth $4,556,803. Corporate insiders own 2.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of The Hanover Insurance Group

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Tidal Investments LLC boosted its stake 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 worth $1,074,000 after buying an additional 5,622 shares in the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new stake in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Sanctuary Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group by 35.0% in the 3rd quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 4,013 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $656,000 after purchasing an additional 1,040 shares in the last quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC grew its holdings in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group by 15.9% during the 3rd quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 1,174 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $174,000 after purchasing an additional 161 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in The Hanover Insurance Group by 2.6% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 660,272 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $97,816,000 after purchasing an additional 16,800 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.61% of the company’s stock.

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.