The Hanover Insurance Group (NYSE:THG) Shares Gap Up After Earnings Beat

Shares of The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. (NYSE:THG) gapped up prior to trading on Wednesday after the company announced better than expected quarterly earnings. The stock had previously closed at $152.95, but opened at $159.11. The Hanover Insurance Group shares last traded at $159.57, with a volume of 19,552 shares trading hands.

The insurance provider reported $5.32 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.45 by $1.87. The Hanover Insurance Group had a net margin of 5.92% and a return on equity of 15.53%.

The Hanover Insurance Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 13th were paid a $0.90 dividend. This is a positive change from The Hanover Insurance Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.85. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 13th. This represents a $3.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.25%. The Hanover Insurance Group’s dividend payout ratio is 35.71%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

THG has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Oppenheimer boosted their price target on The Hanover Insurance Group from $165.00 to $177.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Barclays raised shares of The Hanover Insurance Group to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. 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 note on Friday, November 1st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on shares of The Hanover Insurance Group from $170.00 to $176.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on shares of The Hanover Insurance Group in a report on Thursday, December 5th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $170.00 price objective for the company. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $174.88.

Insider Activity

In other The Hanover Insurance Group news, EVP Jeffrey M. Farber sold 5,886 shares of The Hanover Insurance Group stock in a transaction on Friday, November 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $160.05, for a total transaction of $942,054.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 60,205 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,635,810.25. The trade was a 8.91 % 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. In the last three months, insiders have sold 12,100 shares of company stock worth $1,951,223. 2.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On The Hanover Insurance Group

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its position in The Hanover Insurance Group by 14,711.0% in 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 acquiring an additional 548,720 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its stake 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 valued at $219,883,000 after purchasing an additional 143,339 shares during the period. Point72 Asset Management L.P. grew its holdings in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group by 40.2% in the third quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 164,130 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $24,309,000 after purchasing an additional 47,071 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. purchased a new position in The Hanover Insurance Group in the 4th quarter worth about $5,276,000. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in The Hanover Insurance Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $4,903,000. 86.61% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

The Hanover Insurance Group Stock Performance

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 capitalization of $5.76 billion, a PE ratio of 15.87 and a beta of 0.72. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $155.71 and its 200-day simple moving average is $149.69.

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.