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

Shares of The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. (NYSE:THG) have been given a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” by the eight analysts that are covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $174.88.

Several analysts have issued reports on THG shares. Bank of America lifted 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. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of The Hanover Insurance Group from $161.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Piper Sandler raised their target price on shares of 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. Oppenheimer boosted 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 report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott cut The Hanover Insurance Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $176.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Thursday, November 21st.

The Hanover Insurance Group Stock Performance

Shares of The Hanover Insurance Group stock opened at $157.56 on Tuesday. 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 50 day simple moving average of $156.79 and a 200 day simple moving average of $148.64. The Hanover Insurance Group has a fifty-two week low of $119.66 and a fifty-two week high of $166.13. The firm has a market cap of $5.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.63 and a beta of 0.72.

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 for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $1.57 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.67 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.19 earnings per share. The Hanover Insurance Group’s revenue was up 3.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that The Hanover Insurance Group will post 11.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

The Hanover Insurance Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 13th were paid a $0.90 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 13th. This is an increase from The Hanover Insurance Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.85. This represents a $3.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.28%. The Hanover Insurance Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 35.71%.

Insider Buying and Selling at The Hanover Insurance Group

In related news, EVP Jeffrey M. Farber sold 6,114 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $162.36, for a total transaction of $992,669.04. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 54,091 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,782,214.76. The trade was a 10.16 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 12,100 shares of company stock worth $1,951,223. 2.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On The Hanover Insurance Group

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group by 14,711.0% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 552,450 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $81,823,000 after buying an additional 548,720 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its position in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group by 10.7% during 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 acquiring an additional 143,339 shares in the last quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. bought a new position in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group in the second quarter worth $14,684,000. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group by 116.7% in the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 114,643 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $14,150,000 after purchasing an additional 61,738 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. bought a new stake in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group during the 4th quarter valued at $5,276,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.61% of the company’s stock.

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.