The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. (NYSE:THG) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. (NYSE:THG) has earned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the five brokerages that are covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12-month target price among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $173.40.

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on THG shares. Oppenheimer upped their price target on shares of 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 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. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on The Hanover Insurance Group from $162.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Bank of America upped their price target on The Hanover Insurance Group from $158.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on shares of The Hanover Insurance Group from $164.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th.

The Hanover Insurance Group Price Performance

THG stock opened at $164.39 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 0.40 and a current ratio of 0.40. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $150.50 and a 200-day moving average price of $138.52. The Hanover Insurance Group has a 52-week low of $117.56 and a 52-week high of $165.27. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.31 and a beta of 0.70.

The Hanover Insurance Group (NYSE:THG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The insurance provider reported $3.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.65 by $0.40. The Hanover Insurance Group had a return on equity of 15.53% and a net margin of 5.92%. The business had revenue of $1.57 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.67 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.19 earnings per share. 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 will post 11.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

The Hanover Insurance Group Announces Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Richard W. Lavey sold 8,468 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $144.01, for a total value of $1,219,476.68. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 36,281 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,224,826.81. This trade represents a 18.92 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Warren E. Barnes sold 500 shares of The Hanover Insurance Group stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $138.25, for a total value of $69,125.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 3,013 shares in the company, valued at approximately $416,547.25. The trade was a 14.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 41,303 shares of company stock valued at $6,306,926. 2.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On The Hanover Insurance Group

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in THG. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its stake in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group by 10.7% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,484,592 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $219,883,000 after purchasing an additional 143,339 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its stake in The Hanover Insurance Group by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,239,701 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $183,612,000 after buying an additional 3,780 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its holdings in The Hanover Insurance Group by 0.5% during the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 997,011 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $147,667,000 after acquiring an additional 4,717 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. raised its holdings in The Hanover Insurance Group by 4.3% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 802,033 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $100,607,000 after acquiring an additional 33,249 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group by 4.0% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 798,109 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $100,111,000 after acquiring an additional 30,536 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors 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.