The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. (THG) To Go Ex-Dividend on December 13th

The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. (NYSE:THG) declared a quarterly dividend on Monday, December 2nd,RTT News reports. Investors of record on Friday, December 13th will be given a dividend of 0.90 per share by the insurance provider on Friday, December 27th. This represents a $3.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.20%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. This is a positive change from The Hanover Insurance Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.85.

The Hanover Insurance Group has increased its dividend payment by an average of 7.4% per year over the last three years and has increased its dividend every year for the last 19 years. The Hanover Insurance Group has a payout ratio of 24.8% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research analysts expect The Hanover Insurance Group to earn $13.69 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $3.40 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 24.8%.

The Hanover Insurance Group Stock Performance

NYSE THG opened at $163.32 on Wednesday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $154.33 and a two-hundred day moving average of $140.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 0.40 and a quick ratio of 0.40. The Hanover Insurance Group has a 1 year low of $119.36 and a 1 year high of $166.13. The company has a market capitalization of $5.88 billion, a PE ratio of 16.20 and a beta of 0.71.

The Hanover Insurance Group (NYSE:THG) last announced its earnings results 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 Hanover Insurance Group had a return on equity of 15.53% and a net margin of 5.92%. The firm had revenue of $1.57 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.67 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.19 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 3.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that The Hanover Insurance Group will post 11.43 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

THG has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Janney Montgomery Scott cut shares of The Hanover Insurance Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $176.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Oppenheimer raised their price target on 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 upped their price objective on The Hanover Insurance Group from $158.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on The Hanover Insurance Group from $164.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, JMP Securities increased their price target on The Hanover Insurance Group from $160.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, The Hanover Insurance Group presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $173.83.

Insider Buying and Selling at The Hanover Insurance Group

In related news, EVP Jeffrey M. Farber sold 6,114 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $162.36, for a total value of $992,669.04. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 54,091 shares in the company, valued at $8,782,214.76. This represents a 10.16 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 30,551 shares of company stock valued at $4,781,935. 2.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.