The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. (NYSE:THG) Increases Dividend to $0.90 Per Share

The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. (NYSE:THG) announced a quarterly dividend on Monday, December 2nd,RTT News reports. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be paid a dividend of 0.90 per share by the insurance provider on Friday, December 27th. This represents a $3.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.20%. This is a positive change from The Hanover Insurance Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.85.

The Hanover Insurance Group has increased its dividend by an average of 7.4% per year over the last three years and has increased its dividend annually for the last 19 consecutive years. The Hanover Insurance Group has a payout ratio of 24.8% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research analysts expect The Hanover Insurance Group to earn $13.69 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $3.40 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 24.8%.

The Hanover Insurance Group Price Performance

NYSE THG traded up $1.05 on Tuesday, hitting $163.57. 10,512 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 174,724. The Hanover Insurance Group has a 1-year low of $119.36 and a 1-year high of $166.13. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $154.04 and a two-hundred day moving average of $140.74. The company has a current ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 0.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The company has a market cap of $5.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.11 and a beta of 0.71.

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, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.65 by $0.40. The company had revenue of $1.57 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.67 billion. The Hanover Insurance Group had a net margin of 5.92% and a return on equity of 15.53%. The Hanover Insurance Group’s quarterly revenue was up 3.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.19 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that The Hanover Insurance Group will post 11.43 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other The Hanover Insurance Group news, EVP Jeffrey M. Farber sold 300 shares of The Hanover Insurance Group stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $150.00, for a total value of $45,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 89,733 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,459,950. This trade represents a 0.33 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 30,551 shares of company stock valued at $4,781,935. 2.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on THG shares. Oppenheimer lifted their target price on 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. JMP Securities lifted their price objective 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. Bank of America upped their target price on shares of The Hanover Insurance Group from $158.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on shares of The Hanover Insurance Group from $162.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott lowered 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 report on Thursday, November 21st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $173.83.

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.