The Hanover Insurance Group (NYSE:THG) Stock Price Up 1.3% After Analyst Upgrade

The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. (NYSE:THG)’s stock price traded up 1.3% during mid-day trading on Thursday after BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on the stock from $161.00 to $180.00. BMO Capital Markets currently has an outperform rating on the stock. The Hanover Insurance Group traded as high as $153.07 and last traded at $152.09. 21,379 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 88% from the average session volume of 174,766 shares. The stock had previously closed at $150.10.

Several other brokerages have also weighed in on THG. Morgan Stanley began coverage on The Hanover Insurance Group in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $170.00 price objective on the stock. Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of 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. Janney Montgomery Scott downgraded 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 report on Thursday, November 21st. 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. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on The Hanover Insurance Group from $164.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $174.13.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Jeffrey M. Farber sold 6,114 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $162.36, for a total transaction of $992,669.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 54,091 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,782,214.76. The trade was a 10.16 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders have sold 29,051 shares of company stock worth $4,556,803 in the last three months. 2.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On The Hanover Insurance Group

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of THG. Tidal Investments LLC raised its position in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group by 344.5% during the 3rd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 7,254 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,074,000 after buying an additional 5,622 shares in the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new position in The Hanover Insurance Group in the third quarter valued at $30,000. Sanctuary Advisors LLC raised its position in The Hanover Insurance Group by 35.0% during the third 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 raised its position in The Hanover Insurance Group by 15.9% during the third 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in The Hanover Insurance Group by 2.6% during the third 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 last quarter. 86.61% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

The Hanover Insurance Group Price Performance

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 stock has a market capitalization of $5.55 billion, a PE ratio of 15.27 and a beta of 0.71. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $156.70 and a 200-day moving average price of $142.98.

The Hanover Insurance Group (NYSE:THG) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The insurance provider reported $3.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.65 by $0.40. The business had revenue of $1.57 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.67 billion. The Hanover Insurance Group had a return on equity of 15.53% and a net margin of 5.92%. The Hanover Insurance Group’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.19 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. will post 11.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

The Hanover Insurance Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 27th. Investors of record on Friday, December 13th will be given a $0.90 dividend. This represents a $3.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.34%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. This is a boost from The Hanover Insurance Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.85. The Hanover Insurance Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.