The Hanover Insurance Group (NYSE:THG) Reaches New 12-Month High Following Analyst Upgrade

The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. (NYSE:THG) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Tuesday after Piper Sandler raised their price target on the stock from $190.00 to $205.00. Piper Sandler currently has an overweight rating on the stock. The Hanover Insurance Group traded as high as $176.16 and last traded at $175.74, with a volume of 44109 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $173.95.

Several other brokerages also recently issued reports on THG. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on shares of The Hanover Insurance Group from $161.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of The Hanover Insurance Group from $165.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on shares of The Hanover Insurance Group from $176.00 to $179.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Barclays raised The Hanover Insurance Group to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, The Hanover Insurance Group presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $179.00.

Insider Activity at The Hanover Insurance Group

In related news, CEO John C. Roche sold 200 shares of The Hanover Insurance Group stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $175.01, for a total transaction of $35,002.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 124,278 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $21,749,892.78. This trade represents a 0.16 % 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. 2.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Barclays PLC grew its stake in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group by 61.5% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 27,155 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $4,022,000 after purchasing an additional 10,341 shares during the period. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in The Hanover Insurance Group in the 4th quarter valued at $201,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its position in The Hanover Insurance Group by 104.4% in the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 11,967 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,772,000 after acquiring an additional 6,112 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC raised its stake in The Hanover Insurance Group by 82.4% during the third quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 11,500 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,702,000 after acquiring an additional 5,194 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Congress Asset Management Co. lifted its holdings in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group by 42.5% during the fourth quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. now owns 46,091 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $7,128,000 after acquiring an additional 13,750 shares during the period. 86.61% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

The Hanover Insurance Group Price Performance

The company’s 50 day moving average price is $164.17 and its 200 day moving average price is $157.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a quick ratio of 0.40 and a current ratio of 0.40. The company has a market cap of $6.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.99 and a beta of 0.65.

The Hanover Insurance Group (NYSE:THG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The insurance provider reported $5.32 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.45 by $1.87. The Hanover Insurance Group had a net margin of 6.83% and a return on equity of 18.01%. On average, equities research analysts predict that The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. will post 14.37 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

The Hanover Insurance Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th were issued a dividend of $0.90 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $3.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.05%. The Hanover Insurance Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 30.80%.

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.