The Hanover Insurance Group (NYSE:THG) Trading 0.8% Higher – Time to Buy?

Shares of The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. (NYSE:THG) traded up 0.8% during mid-day trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $155.52 and last traded at $155.37. 21,610 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 88% from the average session volume of 174,956 shares. The stock had previously closed at $154.19.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

THG has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Janney Montgomery Scott lowered 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. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on shares of The Hanover Insurance Group from $164.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Oppenheimer increased their target price 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. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of The Hanover Insurance Group from $158.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Piper Sandler upped their price target on The Hanover Insurance Group from $162.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $173.29.

The Hanover Insurance Group Stock Performance

The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $156.09 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $142.27. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $5.55 billion, a PE ratio of 15.29 and a beta of 0.71.

The Hanover Insurance Group (NYSE:THG) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $1.57 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 previous year, the company posted $0.19 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. will post 11.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

The Hanover Insurance Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 27th. Investors of record on Friday, December 13th will be paid a $0.90 dividend. This is an increase from The Hanover Insurance Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.85. This represents a $3.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.34%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. The Hanover Insurance Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 35.71%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Jeffrey M. Farber sold 300 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $150.00, for a total value of $45,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 89,733 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,459,950. This represents a 0.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 30,551 shares of company stock worth $4,781,935. 2.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Captrust Financial Advisors boosted its stake in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group by 4.7% during the 3rd quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 1,822 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $270,000 after buying an additional 81 shares during the period. Lecap Asset Management Ltd. boosted its position in The Hanover Insurance Group by 2.0% during the third quarter. Lecap Asset Management Ltd. now owns 4,202 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $622,000 after purchasing an additional 84 shares during the last quarter. Lowe Brockenbrough & Co. Inc. boosted its position in The Hanover Insurance Group by 0.6% during the third quarter. Lowe Brockenbrough & Co. Inc. now owns 14,693 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $2,176,000 after purchasing an additional 91 shares during the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC grew its stake in The Hanover Insurance Group by 8.7% in the second quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,336 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $168,000 after purchasing an additional 107 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. increased its position in The Hanover Insurance Group by 35.4% in the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 417 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $62,000 after purchasing an additional 109 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.61% of the company’s stock.

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.