The Hanover Insurance Group (NYSE:THG) Trading Down 1.1% – Here’s Why

The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. (NYSE:THG)’s stock price traded down 1.1% during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $152.81 and last traded at $153.17. 16,483 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 91% from the average session volume of 174,832 shares. The stock had previously closed at $154.85.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley started coverage on The Hanover Insurance Group in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $170.00 price objective for the company. Piper Sandler upped 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 boosted their target price on shares of The Hanover Insurance Group from $164.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. 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 report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on shares of The Hanover Insurance Group from $161.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $174.13.

The Hanover Insurance Group Price Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $5.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.23 and a beta of 0.71. 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 firm has a 50 day moving average price of $156.45 and a 200-day moving average price of $142.74.

The Hanover Insurance Group (NYSE:THG) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 5.92% and a return on equity of 15.53%. The Hanover Insurance Group’s quarterly revenue was up 3.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.19 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. will post 11.41 earnings per share for the current year.

The Hanover Insurance Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be paid a $0.90 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. This represents a $3.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.35%. This is an increase from The Hanover Insurance Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.85. The Hanover Insurance Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 35.71%.

Insider Activity

In other The Hanover Insurance Group news, EVP Jeffrey M. Farber sold 6,114 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $162.36, for a total value of $992,669.04. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 54,091 shares in the company, valued at $8,782,214.76. This represents a 10.16 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 29,051 shares of company stock valued at $4,556,803. 2.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd bought a new position in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group during the 2nd quarter worth $25,000. True Wealth Design LLC bought a new position in The Hanover Insurance Group during the 3rd quarter worth about $25,000. V Square Quantitative Management LLC purchased a new position in The Hanover Insurance Group during the 3rd quarter valued at about $26,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new stake in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group in the 3rd quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $42,000. 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.