The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. (THG) - What Are Researchers Thinking About This Stock?

Key Points

• Analysts have a Moderate Buy consensus on THG: five rate it Hold, three Buy and two Strong Buy. Their average 12-month price target is $236.62, with some firms recently raising targets to as high as $250.
• Hanover reported quarterly EPS of $5.15, beating the $4.62 consensus, while revenue of $1.74 billion fell short of the $1.81 billion forecast. Analysts expect full-year EPS of $20.80.
• Company executives sold 18,601 shares worth about $4.39 million over the past 90 days. Hanover’s quarterly dividend is $0.95 per share, equivalent to a 1.6% annualized yield.

The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. (NYSE:THG - Get Free Report) has earned a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the ten ratings firms that are covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, three have given a buy recommendation and two have issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month target price among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $236.62.

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on THG. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price target on shares of The Hanover Insurance Group from $235.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Friday, October 30th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued a "market perform" rating on shares of The Hanover Insurance Group in a research report on Friday. Citizens Jmp increased their target price on shares of The Hanover Insurance Group from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a "market outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 29th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of The Hanover Insurance Group from $230.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, October 30th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of The Hanover Insurance Group from a "buy (a)" rating to a "buy (a+)" rating in a report on Thursday, October 8th.

Insider Activity at The Hanover Insurance Group

In related news, EVP Willard T. Lee sold 9,946 shares of The Hanover Insurance Group stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $249.14, for a total transaction of $2,477,946.44. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 6,004 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,495,836.56. The trade was a 62.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Dennis Kerrigan sold 6,551 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $220.79, for a total value of $1,446,395.29. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 12,003 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,650,142.37. This represents a 35.31% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 18,601 shares of company stock valued at $4,392,292 over the last ninety days. 2.80% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in THG. Mather Group LLC. acquired a new stake in The Hanover Insurance Group in the third quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Clearstead Trust LLC purchased a new stake in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group in the second quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Provenance Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group in the third quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group by 106.4% during the 3rd quarter. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC now owns 194 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the period. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $51,000. 86.61% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

The Hanover Insurance Group Trading Down 0.1%

Shares of NYSE:THG opened at $242.59 on Monday. The Hanover Insurance Group has a 12-month low of $166.54 and a 12-month high of $256.74. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $228.50 and its 200-day simple moving average is $201.99. The company has a market capitalization of $8.34 billion, a PE ratio of 11.60 and a beta of 0.24. The company has a current ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 0.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23.

The Hanover Insurance Group (NYSE:THG - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 28th. The insurance provider reported $5.15 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $4.62 by $0.53. The firm had revenue of $1.74 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.81 billion. The Hanover Insurance Group had a return on equity of 21.63% and a net margin of 10.97%. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $5.09 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that The Hanover Insurance Group will post 20.80 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

The Hanover Insurance Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 25th. Investors of record on Friday, September 11th were given a dividend of $0.95 per share. This represents a $3.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 11th. The Hanover Insurance Group's dividend payout ratio is currently 18.17%.

About The Hanover Insurance Group

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