The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. (NYSE:THG) Given Average Recommendation of “Hold” by Analysts

The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. (NYSE:THG) has been given an average recommendation of “Hold” by the seven research firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $173.29.

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley started coverage on The Hanover Insurance Group in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $170.00 target price for the company. Bank of America increased their price objective 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. Piper Sandler lifted 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. Oppenheimer increased their target price on The Hanover Insurance Group from $165.00 to $177.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised 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.

Insider Activity at The Hanover Insurance Group

In other The Hanover Insurance Group news, EVP Jeffrey M. Farber sold 1,200 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $150.11, for a total value of $180,132.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 85,983 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,906,908.13. This represents a 1.38 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 30,551 shares of company stock worth $4,781,935. 2.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On The Hanover Insurance Group

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in THG. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its stake in The Hanover Insurance Group by 10.7% during the 3rd 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 during the period. State Street Corp grew its stake in The Hanover Insurance Group by 0.3% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,239,701 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $183,612,000 after acquiring an additional 3,780 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its holdings in The Hanover Insurance Group by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 997,011 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $147,667,000 after acquiring an additional 4,717 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. increased its holdings in The Hanover Insurance Group by 4.3% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 802,033 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $100,607,000 after acquiring an additional 33,249 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in The Hanover Insurance Group by 4.0% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 798,109 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $100,111,000 after purchasing an additional 30,536 shares in the last quarter. 86.61% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

The Hanover Insurance Group Stock Performance

Shares of THG stock opened at $154.16 on Monday. The Hanover Insurance Group has a one year low of $119.36 and a one year high of $166.13. The company has a market capitalization of $5.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.29 and a beta of 0.71. The company’s 50-day moving average is $156.09 and its 200 day moving average is $142.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 0.40 and a current ratio of 0.40.

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

The Hanover Insurance Group Increases Dividend

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