The Hanover Insurance Group (NYSE:THG) Stock Price Expected to Rise, JMP Securities Analyst Says

The Hanover Insurance Group (NYSE:THG) had its price objective raised by JMP Securities from $160.00 to $175.00 in a research note issued to investors on Thursday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a market outperform rating on the insurance provider’s stock.

Several other equities analysts have also recently commented on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on The Hanover Insurance Group from $142.00 to $144.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 13th. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of 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. Finally, Piper Sandler upped their price target on shares of The Hanover Insurance Group from $147.00 to $162.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $168.20.

The Hanover Insurance Group Trading Up 1.1 %

Shares of THG stock traded up $1.58 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $149.91. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 20,169 shares, compared to its average volume of 173,494. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 0.40 and a current ratio of 0.40. The company has a market cap of $5.39 billion, a PE ratio of 14.88 and a beta of 0.69. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $147.12 and its 200-day simple moving average is $136.23. The Hanover Insurance Group has a 52 week low of $112.22 and a 52 week high of $155.84.

The Hanover Insurance Group (NYSE:THG) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The insurance provider reported $3.05 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.65 by $0.40. The Hanover Insurance Group had a return on equity of 16.09% and a net margin of 5.92%. The firm had revenue of $1.57 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.67 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.19 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 3.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that The Hanover Insurance Group will post 10.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

The Hanover Insurance Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 13th were given a $0.85 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 13th. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.27%. The Hanover Insurance Group’s dividend payout ratio is 33.73%.

Insider Buying and Selling at The Hanover Insurance Group

In other news, EVP Jeffrey M. Farber sold 12,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $155.08, for a total value of $1,860,960.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 66,091 shares in the company, valued at $10,249,392.28. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, Director Kathy S. Lane sold 1,884 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $134.23, for a total transaction of $252,889.32. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Jeffrey M. Farber sold 12,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $155.08, for a total value of $1,860,960.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 66,091 shares in the company, valued at $10,249,392.28. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 29,303 shares of company stock valued at $4,372,203. 2.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On The Hanover Insurance Group

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in THG. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its stake in The Hanover Insurance Group by 14,711.0% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 552,450 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $81,823,000 after acquiring an additional 548,720 shares in the last quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. bought a new position in The Hanover Insurance Group during the second quarter valued at approximately $14,684,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its holdings in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group by 5.5% during the 2nd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,341,253 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $168,247,000 after acquiring an additional 70,161 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its stake in The Hanover Insurance Group by 116.7% during the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 114,643 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $14,150,000 after purchasing an additional 61,738 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC bought a new stake in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group in the 2nd quarter worth about $4,284,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.61% of the company’s stock.

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.