The Hanover Insurance Group (NYSE:THG) Shares Up 0% – Here’s Why

The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. (NYSE:THG) shot up 0% during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $164.83 and last traded at $164.23. 13,803 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 92% from the average session volume of 174,492 shares. The stock had previously closed at $164.15.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have commented on THG. Morgan Stanley began coverage on shares of The Hanover Insurance Group in a report on Thursday. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $170.00 price objective on the stock. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of The Hanover Insurance Group from $158.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased 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 report on Thursday, November 7th. Oppenheimer increased their price target 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. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott downgraded shares of The Hanover Insurance Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $176.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, The Hanover Insurance Group has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $173.29.

The Hanover Insurance Group Stock Performance

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 company’s 50-day moving average is $155.29 and its two-hundred day moving average is $141.41. The company has a market capitalization of $5.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.95 and a beta of 0.71.

The Hanover Insurance Group (NYSE:THG) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 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% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.19 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate 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 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 represents a $3.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.24%. This is a boost from The Hanover Insurance Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.85. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. The Hanover Insurance Group’s dividend payout ratio is 35.71%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other The Hanover Insurance Group news, EVP Jeffrey M. Farber sold 1,200 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $150.11, for a total transaction of $180,132.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 85,983 shares in the company, valued at $12,906,908.13. This trade represents a 1.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 30,551 shares of company stock worth $4,781,935. Insiders own 2.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its position in The Hanover Insurance Group by 10.7% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,484,592 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $219,883,000 after acquiring an additional 143,339 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its position in The Hanover Insurance Group by 0.3% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,239,701 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $183,612,000 after acquiring an additional 3,780 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its position in The Hanover Insurance Group by 0.5% during the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 997,011 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $147,667,000 after acquiring an additional 4,717 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. grew its position in The Hanover Insurance Group by 4.3% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 802,033 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $100,607,000 after acquiring an additional 33,249 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in The Hanover Insurance Group by 4.0% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 798,109 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $100,111,000 after acquiring an additional 30,536 shares during the last quarter. 86.61% of the stock is currently owned by 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.