The Hanover Insurance Group (NYSE:THG) Stock Price Down 0.4% - Here's What Happened

The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. (NYSE:THG - Get Free Report)'s stock price was down 0.4% during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $162.17 and last traded at $162.66. Approximately 9,128 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 95% from the average daily volume of 174,669 shares. The stock had previously closed at $163.28.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

THG has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Oppenheimer lifted their price target on 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. Bank of America boosted their price target on The Hanover Insurance Group from $158.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. JMP Securities upped 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. Janney Montgomery Scott cut shares of The Hanover Insurance Group from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $176.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, Piper Sandler increased their price objective on shares of The Hanover Insurance Group from $162.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $173.83.

The Hanover Insurance Group Stock Up 0.5 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 0.40 and a quick ratio of 0.40. The stock has a market cap of $5.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.14 and a beta of 0.71. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $154.33 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $140.92.

The Hanover Insurance Group (NYSE:THG - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The insurance provider reported $3.05 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.65 by $0.40. The company had revenue of $1.57 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.67 billion. The Hanover Insurance Group had a net margin of 5.92% and a return on equity of 15.53%. The Hanover Insurance Group's revenue for the quarter was up 3.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.19 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. will post 11.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

The Hanover Insurance Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be issued a $0.90 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. This is a boost from The Hanover Insurance Group's previous quarterly dividend of $0.85. This represents a $3.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.19%. The Hanover Insurance Group's payout ratio is 33.73%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Jeffrey M. Farber sold 6,114 shares of The Hanover Insurance Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $162.36, for a total transaction of $992,669.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 54,091 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,782,214.76. The trade was a 10.16 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders sold a total of 30,551 shares of company stock worth $4,781,935 over the last three months. 2.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of The Hanover Insurance Group

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new position in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group during the second quarter worth about $25,000. True Wealth Design LLC acquired a new position in The Hanover Insurance Group in the third quarter valued at $25,000. V Square Quantitative Management LLC acquired a new position in The Hanover Insurance Group in the 3rd quarter valued at about $26,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new stake in The Hanover Insurance Group during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group during the second quarter worth approximately $42,000. 86.61% of the stock is currently 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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