The Hanover Insurance Group (NYSE:THG) Trading Up 0.4% – Time to Buy?

Shares of The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. (NYSE:THG) shot up 0.4% during trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $164.46 and last traded at $164.24. 122,969 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 29% from the average session volume of 174,402 shares. The stock had previously closed at $163.60.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently weighed in on THG. Bank of America boosted 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 report on Thursday, October 10th. JMP Securities boosted their target price on The Hanover Insurance Group from $160.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Oppenheimer increased 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. Janney Montgomery Scott cut The Hanover Insurance Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $176.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on The Hanover Insurance Group from $164.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $173.83.

The Hanover Insurance Group Price Performance

The company has a current ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 0.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The stock has a market cap of $5.83 billion, a PE ratio of 16.04 and a beta of 0.70. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $152.25 and a 200 day moving average price of $139.56.

The Hanover Insurance Group (NYSE:THG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The insurance provider reported $3.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.65 by $0.40. The business 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 quarterly revenue was up 3.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.19 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. will post 11.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

The Hanover Insurance Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 13th were given a $0.85 dividend. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.10%. 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

In related news, 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 transaction of $1,219,476.68. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 36,281 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,224,826.81. This trade represents a 18.92 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Jeffrey M. Farber sold 300 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $150.00, for a total value of $45,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 89,733 shares in the company, valued at $13,459,950. This represents a 0.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 38,919 shares of company stock valued at $5,984,912. Corporate insiders own 2.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On The Hanover Insurance Group

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of THG. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its stake in The Hanover Insurance Group by 10.7% in the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,484,592 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $219,883,000 after buying an additional 143,339 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its holdings in The Hanover Insurance Group by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,239,701 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $183,612,000 after buying an additional 3,780 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its stake in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 997,011 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $147,667,000 after purchasing an additional 4,717 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. raised its holdings in The Hanover Insurance Group by 4.3% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 802,033 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $100,607,000 after purchasing an additional 33,249 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group by 4.0% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 798,109 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $100,111,000 after acquiring an additional 30,536 shares in the last quarter. 86.61% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About The Hanover Insurance Group

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.