The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. (NYSE:THG) Receives Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Shares of The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. (NYSE:THG) have been given a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” by the ten ratings firms that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, five have given a buy recommendation and two have issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $207.00.

A number of research firms recently issued reports on THG. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on The Hanover Insurance Group from $208.00 to $211.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on The Hanover Insurance Group from $212.00 to $220.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 26th. Citizens Jmp lifted their target price on The Hanover Insurance Group from $200.00 to $205.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Citigroup reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of The Hanover Insurance Group in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $195.00 price target on The Hanover Insurance Group in a report on Friday, May 1st.

Insider Activity at The Hanover Insurance Group

In other The Hanover Insurance Group news, CEO John C. Roche sold 8,358 shares of The Hanover Insurance Group stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $193.74, for a total transaction of $1,619,278.92. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 141,011 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $27,319,471.14. The trade was a 5.60% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Dennis Francis Kerrigan sold 6,262 shares of The Hanover Insurance Group stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $192.99, for a total value of $1,208,503.38. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 11,988 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,313,564.12. This trade represents a 34.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 29,508 shares of company stock worth $5,704,651 over the last three months. Company insiders own 2.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of The Hanover Insurance Group

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in The Hanover Insurance Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $83,817,000. Alliancebernstein L.P. grew its stake in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group by 36.1% in the 2nd quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 1,280,418 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $217,505,000 after purchasing an additional 339,896 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group by 37.8% in the 3rd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 763,431 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $137,967,000 after purchasing an additional 209,616 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group by 44.1% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 646,910 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $118,236,000 after purchasing an additional 197,930 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Balyasny Asset Management L.P. grew its stake in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group by 206.0% in the 3rd quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 292,121 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $53,058,000 after purchasing an additional 196,655 shares during the last quarter. 86.61% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

The Hanover Insurance Group Trading Down 0.5%

NYSE:THG opened at $196.43 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $6.87 billion, a PE ratio of 9.89 and a beta of 0.30. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $185.67 and a 200 day moving average price of $180.00. The Hanover Insurance Group has a 12-month low of $160.70 and a 12-month high of $199.59. The company has a current ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 0.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22.

The Hanover Insurance Group (NYSE:THG) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The insurance provider reported $5.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.14 by $1.11. The firm had revenue of $1.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.58 billion. The Hanover Insurance Group had a return on equity of 21.55% and a net margin of 10.77%.The Hanover Insurance Group’s revenue was up 6.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $3.87 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that The Hanover Insurance Group will post 18.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

The Hanover Insurance Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 12th will be issued a dividend of $0.95 per share. This represents a $3.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 12th. The Hanover Insurance Group’s payout ratio is 19.12%.

The Hanover Insurance Group announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Wednesday, May 13th that allows the company to buyback $700.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization allows the insurance provider to purchase up to 10.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

The Hanover Insurance Group Company Profile

The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc (NYSE: THG) is a property and casualty insurance company that provides a range of commercial and personal insurance products. Through its subsidiary companies, Hanover offers coverage for businesses of all sizes, including workers’ compensation, general liability, commercial auto, and professional liability. On the personal lines side, the company underwrites homeowners, personal auto, flood, and umbrella policies designed to meet the needs of individuals and families.

In addition to its core commercial and personal insurance offerings, Hanover maintains a specialty arm that focuses on niche markets through tailored product solutions.