The Hanover Insurance Group (NYSE:THG) Trading 0.8% Higher – Time to Buy?

Shares of The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. (NYSE:THG) rose 0.8% on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $164.95 and last traded at $164.27. Approximately 140,414 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 20% from the average daily volume of 175,748 shares. The stock had previously closed at $163.04.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Piper Sandler upped their price target on The Hanover Insurance Group from $162.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Oppenheimer increased 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 report on Friday, November 1st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on shares of The Hanover Insurance Group from $164.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Janney Montgomery Scott lowered The Hanover Insurance Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $176.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, JMP Securities lifted their target price on The Hanover Insurance Group from $160.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, The Hanover Insurance Group currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $173.83.

The Hanover Insurance Group Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 0.40 and a current ratio of 0.40. The company has a market cap of $5.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.30 and a beta of 0.70. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $153.09 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $140.10.

The Hanover Insurance Group (NYSE:THG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The insurance provider reported $3.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $1.57 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.67 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.19 earnings per share. The Hanover Insurance Group’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. will post 11.43 EPS for the current year.

The Hanover Insurance Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 27th. Investors of record on Friday, September 13th were issued a dividend of $0.85 per share. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.07%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 13th. The Hanover Insurance Group’s payout ratio is 33.73%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Jeffrey M. Farber sold 1,200 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $150.11, for a total value of $180,132.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 85,983 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,906,908.13. This represents a 1.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders have sold 30,551 shares of company stock valued at $4,781,935 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 2.50% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On The Hanover Insurance Group

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of THG. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its holdings 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 period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its stake in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group by 10.7% in the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. acquired a new position in The Hanover Insurance Group in the second quarter worth approximately $14,684,000. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its position in The Hanover Insurance Group by 116.7% during the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 114,643 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $14,150,000 after acquiring an additional 61,738 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC acquired a new position in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group during the 2nd quarter worth $4,284,000. 86.61% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.