The Hanover Insurance Group (NYSE:THG) Reaches New 52-Week High on Analyst Upgrade

The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. (NYSE:THG)’s stock price reached a new 52-week high during trading on Thursday after Morgan Stanley raised their price target on the stock from $165.00 to $170.00. Morgan Stanley currently has an equal weight rating on the stock. The Hanover Insurance Group traded as high as $166.98 and last traded at $166.12, with a volume of 456755 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $160.23.

Other research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised 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. Janney Montgomery Scott lowered The Hanover Insurance Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $176.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Barclays upgraded The Hanover Insurance Group to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Oppenheimer boosted their target price on shares of The Hanover Insurance Group from $165.00 to $177.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their target price 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. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $174.88.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Jeffrey M. Farber sold 6,114 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $162.36, for a total value of $992,669.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 54,091 shares in the company, valued at $8,782,214.76. The trade was a 10.16 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 2.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On The Hanover Insurance Group

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in THG. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 548,720 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its holdings in 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 valued at $219,883,000 after buying an additional 143,339 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in The Hanover Insurance Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $8,612,000. Point72 Asset Management L.P. grew its holdings in The Hanover Insurance Group by 40.2% during the 3rd quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 164,130 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $24,309,000 after acquiring an additional 47,071 shares during the period. 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. 86.61% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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 cap of $5.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.48 and a beta of 0.72. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $155.75 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $149.81.

The Hanover Insurance Group (NYSE:THG) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The insurance provider reported $5.32 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.45 by $1.87. The Hanover Insurance Group had a return on equity of 15.53% and a net margin of 5.92%. Analysts predict that The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. will post 11.46 EPS for the current year.

The Hanover Insurance Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 27th. Investors of record on Friday, December 13th were paid a dividend of $0.90 per share. 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.17%. The Hanover Insurance Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 35.71%.

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.