The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. (NYSE:THG) Short Interest Update

The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. (NYSE:THG) was the target of a significant growth in short interest in March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 549,800 shares, a growth of 52.0% from the February 28th total of 361,600 shares. Currently, 1.6% of the company’s shares are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 229,800 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.4 days.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO John C. Roche sold 200 shares of the firm’s 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 124,278 shares in the company, valued at $21,749,892.78. This trade represents a 0.16 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders own 2.40% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On The Hanover Insurance Group

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in THG. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in The Hanover Insurance Group by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,613,952 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $558,934,000 after purchasing an additional 23,565 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its position in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,489,391 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $230,349,000 after buying an additional 4,799 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its stake in The Hanover Insurance Group by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,239,701 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $183,612,000 after acquiring an additional 3,780 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in The Hanover Insurance Group by 28.6% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,217,919 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $188,363,000 after acquiring an additional 270,491 shares during the last quarter. Finally, T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in The Hanover Insurance Group by 4.2% in the fourth quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,087,786 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $168,237,000 after acquiring an additional 43,918 shares in the last quarter. 86.61% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently commented on the stock. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on shares of The Hanover Insurance Group from $161.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of The Hanover Insurance Group from $165.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on shares of The Hanover Insurance Group from $176.00 to $179.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Barclays upgraded The Hanover Insurance Group to a “hold” rating in a research note 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, The Hanover Insurance Group presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $175.25.

The Hanover Insurance Group Stock Down 1.2 %

Shares of NYSE:THG traded down $2.06 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $172.55. The stock had a trading volume of 217,705 shares, compared to its average volume of 192,282. The Hanover Insurance Group has a 1 year low of $119.66 and a 1 year high of $176.00. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $163.46 and its 200-day moving average is $157.26. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.76 and a beta of 0.65. 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 Hanover Insurance Group (NYSE:THG) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. 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 return on equity of 18.01% and a net margin of 6.83%. Research analysts predict that The Hanover Insurance Group will post 14.37 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

The Hanover Insurance Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th were issued a $0.90 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $3.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.09%. The Hanover Insurance Group’s 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.