The Hanover Insurance Group (NYSE:THG) Trading 1.3% Higher on Analyst Upgrade

The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. (NYSE:THG)’s stock price traded up 1.3% during 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 were traded 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.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. Oppenheimer raised 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. 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 research report on Thursday, October 31st. Morgan Stanley started coverage on shares of The Hanover Insurance Group in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $170.00 target price on the stock. Janney Montgomery Scott cut shares of The Hanover Insurance Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $176.00 price target for the company. in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, Bank of America upped 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 report on Thursday, October 10th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $174.13.

Insider Buying and Selling at The Hanover Insurance Group

In related news, EVP Jeffrey M. Farber sold 12,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, October 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $155.08, for a total transaction of $1,860,960.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 66,091 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,249,392.28. This represents a 15.37 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 29,051 shares of company stock worth $4,556,803. 2.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On The Hanover Insurance Group

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Tidal Investments LLC lifted its position in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group by 344.5% during the third quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 7,254 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,074,000 after purchasing an additional 5,622 shares in the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new stake in The Hanover Insurance Group in the 3rd quarter valued at about $30,000. Sanctuary Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group by 35.0% during the 3rd quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 4,013 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $656,000 after buying an additional 1,040 shares in the last quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC boosted its stake in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group by 15.9% in the 3rd quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 1,174 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $174,000 after buying an additional 161 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group by 2.6% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 660,272 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $97,816,000 after acquiring an additional 16,800 shares in the last quarter. 86.61% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

The Hanover Insurance Group Stock Up 0.3 %

The stock has a 50-day moving average of $156.70 and a 200 day moving average of $142.98. The company has a market capitalization of $5.55 billion, a PE ratio of 15.27 and a beta of 0.71. 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 earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The insurance provider reported $3.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.65 by $0.40. The firm 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 business’s revenue was up 3.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.19 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. will post 11.41 EPS for the current year.

The Hanover Insurance Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be given a dividend of $0.90 per share. This is an increase 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 2.34%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. The Hanover Insurance Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.