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

The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. (NYSE:THG - Get Free Report) was the target of a large decline in short interest in the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 469,800 shares, a decline of 14.6% from the March 15th total of 549,800 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 252,300 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.9 days. Approximately 1.3% of the company's stock are sold short.

Analyst Ratings Changes

THG has been the subject of a number of research reports. Piper Sandler increased their target price on The Hanover Insurance Group from $190.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their target price on The Hanover Insurance Group from $179.00 to $171.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Barclays raised shares of The Hanover Insurance Group to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. StockNews.com lowered shares of The Hanover Insurance Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of The Hanover Insurance Group from $165.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $178.00.

The Hanover Insurance Group Stock Performance

The Hanover Insurance Group stock traded up $0.12 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $163.08. 131,223 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 202,715. 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 stock's 50-day simple moving average is $164.70 and its 200 day simple moving average is $158.91. The firm has a market cap of $5.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.96 and a beta of 0.47. The Hanover Insurance Group has a 52 week low of $119.66 and a 52 week high of $176.16.

The Hanover Insurance Group (NYSE:THG - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The insurance provider reported $5.32 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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%. On average, analysts expect that The Hanover Insurance Group will post 14.37 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

The Hanover Insurance Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th were issued a dividend of $0.90 per share. This represents a $3.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.21%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. The Hanover Insurance Group's payout ratio is 30.80%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO John C. Roche sold 301 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $175.00, for a total value of $52,675.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 124,414 shares in the company, valued at $21,772,450. This represents a 0.24 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 2.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On The Hanover Insurance Group

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC lifted its holdings in The Hanover Insurance Group by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 7,163 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $1,092,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. AMG National Trust Bank lifted its holdings in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. AMG National Trust Bank now owns 10,776 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $1,658,000 after buying an additional 71 shares in the last quarter. Ironwood Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Ironwood Investment Management LLC now owns 9,703 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $1,501,000 after acquiring an additional 85 shares during the period. Venturi Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group by 49.5% in the fourth quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 272 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 90 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Truist Financial Corp increased its position in The Hanover Insurance Group by 4.7% during the fourth quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 2,025 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $313,000 after acquiring an additional 90 shares during the period. 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.