The Hanover Insurance Group (NYSE:THG) Stock Price Up 1.3% on Analyst Upgrade

The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. (NYSE:THG)’s share price rose 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. Approximately 21,379 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 88% from the average daily volume of 174,766 shares. The stock had previously closed at $150.10.

A number of other brokerages also recently weighed in on THG. Janney Montgomery Scott downgraded shares of The Hanover Insurance Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $176.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on The Hanover Insurance Group in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $170.00 target price on the stock. Oppenheimer increased their price objective on shares of The Hanover Insurance Group from $165.00 to $177.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Bank of America upped 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 research note on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, JMP Securities raised their price target on shares of The Hanover Insurance Group from $160.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $174.13.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Jeffrey M. Farber sold 4,800 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $150.41, for a total transaction of $721,968.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 80,790 shares in the company, valued at $12,151,623.90. This trade represents a 5.61 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders sold a total of 29,051 shares of company stock valued at $4,556,803 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 2.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On The Hanover Insurance Group

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd bought a new stake in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group during the second quarter valued at approximately $25,000. True Wealth Design LLC purchased a new position in The Hanover Insurance Group during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. V Square Quantitative Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new position in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group in the third quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in The Hanover Insurance Group in the second quarter worth $42,000. 86.61% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

The Hanover Insurance Group Stock Up 1.4 %

The firm has a market cap of $5.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.09 and a beta of 0.71. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $156.45 and its 200 day simple moving average is $142.74. 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 Hanover Insurance Group (NYSE:THG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The insurance provider reported $3.05 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.65 by $0.40. The company 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 firm’s revenue was up 3.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.19 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. will post 11.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

The Hanover Insurance Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 27th. Investors of record on Friday, December 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.90 per share. This represents a $3.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.37%. This is an increase from The Hanover Insurance Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.85. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. The Hanover Insurance Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 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.