The Hanover Insurance Group (NYSE:THG) Stock Price Down 0.2% – Should You Sell?

The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. (NYSE:THG) traded down 0.2% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $161.16 and last traded at $161.44. 26,456 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 85% from the average session volume of 175,070 shares. The stock had previously closed at $161.73.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of The Hanover Insurance Group from $158.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. JMP Securities lifted their price objective on The Hanover Insurance Group from $160.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Piper Sandler increased their target price on The Hanover Insurance Group from $162.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Janney Montgomery Scott lowered shares of The Hanover Insurance Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $176.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on shares of The Hanover Insurance Group from $164.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $173.83.

The Hanover Insurance Group Trading Up 0.8 %

The business has a 50-day moving average of $152.52 and a 200-day moving average of $139.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 0.40 and a quick ratio of 0.40. The firm has a market cap of $5.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.02 and a beta of 0.70.

The Hanover Insurance Group (NYSE:THG) last posted its quarterly 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 firm had revenue of $1.57 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.67 billion. The Hanover Insurance Group had a net margin of 5.92% and a return on equity of 15.53%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 3.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.19 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. will post 11.43 EPS for the current year.

The Hanover Insurance Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 13th were given a dividend of $0.85 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 13th. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.09%. The Hanover Insurance Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 33.73%.

Insider Buying and Selling at The Hanover Insurance Group

In other The Hanover Insurance Group news, EVP Jeffrey M. Farber sold 300 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $150.00, for a total transaction of $45,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 89,733 shares in the company, valued at $13,459,950. This trade represents a 0.33 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Richard W. Lavey sold 8,468 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $144.01, for a total transaction of $1,219,476.68. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 36,281 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,224,826.81. The trade was a 18.92 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 38,919 shares of company stock worth $5,984,912 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 2.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On The Hanover Insurance Group

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in The Hanover Insurance Group by 14,711.0% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 552,450 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $81,823,000 after acquiring an additional 548,720 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its stake in The Hanover Insurance Group by 10.7% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,484,592 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $219,883,000 after purchasing an additional 143,339 shares in the last quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. acquired a new stake in The Hanover Insurance Group during the second quarter worth about $14,684,000. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in The Hanover Insurance Group by 116.7% in the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 114,643 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $14,150,000 after buying an additional 61,738 shares during the period. Finally, Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC acquired a new position in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $4,284,000. 86.61% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.