The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. (NYSE:THG) Plans $0.90 Quarterly Dividend

The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. (NYSE:THG) declared a quarterly dividend on Monday, February 24th, RTT News reports. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a dividend of 0.90 per share by the insurance provider on Friday, March 28th. This represents a $3.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.22%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th.

The Hanover Insurance Group has raised its dividend payment by an average of 6.6% annually over the last three years and has raised its dividend annually for the last 20 consecutive years. The Hanover Insurance Group has a dividend payout ratio of 22.6% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research analysts expect The Hanover Insurance Group to earn $15.75 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $3.60 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 22.9%.

The Hanover Insurance Group Stock Up 1.8 %

The Hanover Insurance Group stock opened at $161.84 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.84 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a current ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 0.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $156.28 and a two-hundred day moving average of $152.53. The Hanover Insurance Group has a twelve month low of $119.66 and a twelve month high of $166.98.

The Hanover Insurance Group (NYSE:THG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The insurance provider reported $5.32 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.45 by $1.87. The Hanover Insurance Group had a net margin of 6.83% and a return on equity of 18.01%. As a group, research analysts expect that The Hanover Insurance Group will post 14.37 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. Janney Montgomery Scott lowered 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 research report on Thursday, November 21st. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on The Hanover Insurance Group from $161.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Barclays raised The Hanover Insurance Group to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on The Hanover Insurance Group from $176.00 to $179.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Oppenheimer boosted their target price on shares of The Hanover Insurance Group from $165.00 to $177.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $175.25.

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.