The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. (NYSE:THG) Sees Significant Decrease in Short Interest

The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. (NYSE:THG - Get Free Report) saw a large decrease in short interest during the month of October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 248,300 shares, a decrease of 22.6% from the October 15th total of 320,700 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 177,600 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.4 days. Currently, 0.7% of the company's stock are short sold.

The Hanover Insurance Group Stock Performance

THG stock traded up $1.39 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $163.48. 163,501 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 187,902. The Hanover Insurance Group has a 1-year low of $116.70 and a 1-year high of $164.67. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.89 billion, a PE ratio of 16.22 and a beta of 0.70. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $150.50 and a 200-day simple moving average of $138.52. 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 Hanover Insurance Group (NYSE:THG - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The insurance provider reported $3.05 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.65 by $0.40. The Hanover Insurance Group had a return on equity of 15.53% and a net margin of 5.92%. The business had revenue of $1.57 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.67 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.19 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 3.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that The Hanover Insurance Group will post 11.29 earnings per share for the current year.

The Hanover Insurance Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 27th. Investors of record on Friday, September 13th were paid a $0.85 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 13th. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.08%. The Hanover Insurance Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 33.73%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

THG has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. JMP Securities lifted their price objective on shares of The Hanover Insurance Group from $160.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a "market outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Oppenheimer lifted 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. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on The Hanover Insurance Group from $164.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on The Hanover Insurance Group from $162.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Bank of America boosted their target price on The Hanover Insurance Group from $158.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $173.40.

Insider Transactions at The Hanover Insurance Group

In related news, SVP Warren E. Barnes sold 500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $138.25, for a total transaction of $69,125.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 3,013 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $416,547.25. This represents a 14.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Jeffrey M. Farber sold 6,114 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $162.36, for a total value of $992,669.04. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 54,091 shares in the company, valued at $8,782,214.76. This trade represents a 10.16 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 41,303 shares of company stock worth $6,306,926 in the last three months. Insiders own 2.40% 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. Boston Partners raised its holdings in The Hanover Insurance Group by 111.8% in the 1st quarter. Boston Partners now owns 12,794 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $1,739,000 after acquiring an additional 6,753 shares in the last quarter. Interval Partners LP acquired a new position in The Hanover Insurance Group in the first quarter valued at about $2,349,000. Tidal Investments LLC bought a new stake in The Hanover Insurance Group during the first quarter worth about $867,000. Markel Group Inc. grew its stake in The Hanover Insurance Group by 5.8% during the third quarter. Markel Group Inc. now owns 254,000 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $37,620,000 after buying an additional 14,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Foundations Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in The Hanover Insurance Group in the 2nd quarter valued at about $681,000. 86.61% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.