The Hanover Insurance Group (NYSE:THG) Research Coverage Started at Morgan Stanley

Morgan Stanley started coverage on shares of The Hanover Insurance Group (NYSE:THG) in a report issued on Thursday morning, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The brokerage issued an equal weight rating and a $170.00 target price on the insurance provider’s stock.

Several other research analysts have also commented on the stock. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on shares of 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. JMP Securities upped their price target 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. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on The Hanover Insurance Group from $164.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Oppenheimer boosted their target price on The Hanover Insurance Group from $165.00 to $177.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Bank of America increased their price target on The Hanover Insurance Group from $158.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $173.29.

The Hanover Insurance Group Stock Down 2.0 %

Shares of NYSE:THG opened at $160.92 on Thursday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $155.29 and its 200 day moving average is $141.45. The stock has a market cap of $5.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.96 and a beta of 0.71. The Hanover Insurance Group has a 52-week low of $119.36 and a 52-week high of $166.13. 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 Hanover Insurance Group (NYSE:THG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The insurance provider reported $3.05 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.65 by $0.40. The Hanover Insurance Group had a net margin of 5.92% and a return on equity of 15.53%. The firm had revenue of $1.57 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.67 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.19 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 3.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that The Hanover Insurance Group will post 11.43 EPS for the current year.

The Hanover Insurance Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be issued a $0.90 dividend. The ex-dividend date is 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.24%. The Hanover Insurance Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 33.73%.

Insider Transactions at The Hanover Insurance Group

In other news, EVP Jeffrey M. Farber sold 1,200 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $150.11, for a total value of $180,132.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 85,983 shares in the company, valued at $12,906,908.13. This represents a 1.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders sold a total of 30,551 shares of company stock worth $4,781,935 over the last three months. 2.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On The Hanover Insurance Group

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

The Hanover Insurance Group Company Profile

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.