The Hanover Insurance Group (NYSE:THG) Trading Up 0.8% – Here’s Why

Shares of The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. (NYSE:THG) traded up 0.8% on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $164.51 and last traded at $164.38. Approximately 17,867 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 90% from the average daily volume of 175,167 shares. The stock had previously closed at $163.04.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently issued reports on THG. 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. Piper Sandler raised their price target on 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. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on 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. Bank of America boosted 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. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott cut shares of The Hanover Insurance Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $176.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $173.83.

The Hanover Insurance Group Stock Performance

The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $152.80 and a 200 day simple moving average of $139.93. 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 firm has a market cap of $5.92 billion, a PE ratio of 16.31 and a beta of 0.70.

The Hanover Insurance Group (NYSE:THG) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The insurance provider reported $3.05 earnings per share (EPS) 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 company had revenue of $1.57 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.67 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.19 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 3.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. will post 11.43 EPS for the current year.

The Hanover Insurance Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 27th. Investors of record on Friday, September 13th were issued a $0.85 dividend. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.07%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 13th. The Hanover Insurance Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 33.73%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Richard W. Lavey sold 8,468 shares of The Hanover Insurance Group stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $144.01, for a total transaction of $1,219,476.68. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 36,281 shares in the company, valued at $5,224,826.81. This trade represents a 18.92 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Jeffrey M. Farber sold 300 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 17th. The stock was 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 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 39,019 shares of company stock worth $6,001,412 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 2.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of The Hanover Insurance Group

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

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.