The Hanover Insurance Group (NYSE:THG) Shares Down 1.4% - Here's Why

The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. (NYSE:THG - Get Free Report) shares fell 1.4% during mid-day trading on Friday . The company traded as low as $161.06 and last traded at $161.98. 12,129 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 93% from the average session volume of 174,281 shares. The stock had previously closed at $164.26.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently commented on THG. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on shares of The Hanover Insurance Group from $164.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of The Hanover Insurance Group from $158.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Morgan Stanley started coverage on shares of The Hanover Insurance Group in a research note on Thursday. They set an "equal weight" rating and a $170.00 price target for the company. JMP Securities raised their price objective on The Hanover Insurance Group from $160.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a "market outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Piper Sandler lifted their target price 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. Four equities research 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 an average target price of $173.29.

The Hanover Insurance Group Stock Performance

The business has a 50-day moving average price of $155.02 and a 200-day moving average price of $141.25. The company has a quick ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 0.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.07 and a beta of 0.71.

The Hanover Insurance Group (NYSE:THG - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The insurance provider reported $3.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $1.57 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.67 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.19 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 3.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. will post 11.43 earnings per share for the current year.

The Hanover Insurance Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 27th. Investors of record on Friday, December 13th will be given a $0.90 dividend. This is a positive change from The Hanover Insurance Group's previous quarterly dividend of $0.85. This represents a $3.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.23%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. The Hanover Insurance Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 35.71%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other The Hanover Insurance Group news, EVP Jeffrey M. Farber sold 6,114 shares of The Hanover Insurance Group stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $162.36, for a total transaction of $992,669.04. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 54,091 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,782,214.76. The trade was a 10.16 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 30,551 shares of company stock valued at $4,781,935. Insiders own 2.40% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On The Hanover Insurance Group

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in THG. Captrust Financial Advisors lifted its stake in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group by 4.7% in the 3rd quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 1,822 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $270,000 after purchasing an additional 81 shares during the last quarter. Lecap Asset Management Ltd. lifted its position in The Hanover Insurance Group by 2.0% in the third quarter. Lecap Asset Management Ltd. now owns 4,202 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $622,000 after buying an additional 84 shares during the last quarter. Lowe Brockenbrough & Co. Inc. increased its position in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group by 0.6% during the third quarter. Lowe Brockenbrough & Co. Inc. now owns 14,693 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $2,176,000 after acquiring an additional 91 shares during the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC raised its position in The Hanover Insurance Group by 8.7% in the second quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,336 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $168,000 after purchasing an additional 107 shares during the period. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. raised its holdings in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group by 35.4% in the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 417 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $62,000 after buying an additional 109 shares during the period. 86.61% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.

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