The Hanover Insurance Group (NYSE:THG) Trading Up 0.1% - Still a Buy?

Shares of The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. (NYSE:THG - Get Free Report) rose 0.1% on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $163.80 and last traded at $163.27. Approximately 13,615 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 92% from the average daily volume of 173,971 shares. The stock had previously closed at $163.16.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

THG has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. JMP Securities upped their price target on shares of The Hanover Insurance Group from $160.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a "market outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Oppenheimer increased their target price on shares of The Hanover Insurance Group from $165.00 to $177.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Bank of America raised their target price on The Hanover Insurance Group from $158.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. 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 research report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on The Hanover Insurance Group from $164.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $173.40.

The Hanover Insurance Group Stock Down 0.5 %

The company's fifty day simple moving average is $151.19 and its 200 day simple moving average is $138.96. 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 $5.85 billion, a PE ratio of 16.16 and a beta of 0.70.

The Hanover Insurance Group (NYSE:THG - Get Free Report) last issued 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 company had revenue of $1.57 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.67 billion. The Hanover Insurance Group had a return on equity of 15.53% and a net margin of 5.92%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 3.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.19 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. will post 11.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

The Hanover Insurance Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 13th were issued a $0.85 dividend. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.09%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 13th. The Hanover Insurance Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 33.73%.

Insider Buying and Selling at The Hanover Insurance Group

In related news, EVP Jeffrey M. Farber sold 6,114 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $162.36, for a total value of $992,669.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 54,091 shares in the company, valued at $8,782,214.76. The trade was a 10.16 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Richard W. Lavey sold 8,468 shares of The Hanover Insurance Group stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $144.01, for a total value of $1,219,476.68. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 36,281 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,224,826.81. The trade was a 18.92 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 39,419 shares of company stock worth $6,054,037. 2.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On The Hanover Insurance Group

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of THG. Edgestream Partners L.P. bought a new position in The Hanover Insurance Group during the 1st quarter valued at about $365,000. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC lifted its position in The Hanover Insurance Group by 4.6% during the first quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 2,227 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $303,000 after purchasing an additional 97 shares during the period. Bessemer Group Inc. boosted its holdings in The Hanover Insurance Group by 22.5% in the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 1,136 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $155,000 after purchasing an additional 209 shares during the last quarter. MQS Management LLC purchased a new stake in The Hanover Insurance Group during the 1st quarter valued at $365,000. Finally, Quadrature Capital Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group by 230.7% during the 1st quarter. Quadrature Capital Ltd now owns 6,733 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $916,000 after buying an additional 4,697 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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