The Hanover Insurance Group (NYSE:THG) Reaches New 1-Year High After Analyst Upgrade

The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. (NYSE:THG)’s share price hit a new 52-week high during trading on Thursday after Morgan Stanley raised their price target on the stock from $165.00 to $170.00. Morgan Stanley currently has an equal weight rating on the stock. The Hanover Insurance Group traded as high as $166.98 and last traded at $166.12, with a volume of 456755 shares. The stock had previously closed at $160.23.

A number of other research firms have also commented on THG. Oppenheimer raised their price target on The Hanover Insurance Group from $165.00 to $177.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on shares of The Hanover Insurance Group from $161.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on shares of The Hanover Insurance Group from $170.00 to $176.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, January 10th. JMP Securities raised 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 report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott lowered shares of The Hanover Insurance Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $176.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, The Hanover Insurance Group has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $174.88.

Insider Activity at The Hanover Insurance Group

In other The Hanover Insurance Group news, EVP Jeffrey M. Farber sold 6,114 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $162.36, for a total value of $992,669.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 54,091 shares in the company, valued at $8,782,214.76. This trade represents a 10.16 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 2.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On The Hanover Insurance Group

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in THG. True Wealth Design LLC acquired a new position in The Hanover Insurance Group during the third quarter worth $25,000. V Square Quantitative Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group during the 3rd quarter worth about $26,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new stake in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group in the 3rd quarter valued at about $30,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in The Hanover Insurance Group by 49.5% in the 4th quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 272 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Eagle Bay Advisors LLC grew its holdings in The Hanover Insurance Group by 502.1% during the fourth quarter. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC now owns 283 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 236 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.61% of the company’s stock.

The Hanover Insurance Group Price Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 0.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The business has a fifty day moving average of $155.75 and a 200 day moving average of $149.81. The firm has a market cap of $5.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.48 and a beta of 0.72.

The Hanover Insurance Group (NYSE:THG) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The insurance provider reported $5.32 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.45 by $1.87. The Hanover Insurance Group had a return on equity of 15.53% and a net margin of 5.92%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. will post 11.46 earnings per share for the current year.

The Hanover Insurance Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 13th were given a $0.90 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 13th. This is a positive change from The Hanover Insurance Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.85. This represents a $3.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.17%. The Hanover Insurance Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 35.71%.

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.