Bayforest Capital Ltd Grows Stock Holdings in The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. $THG

Key Points

• Bayforest Capital Ltd significantly increased its stake in The Hanover Insurance Group by 881.5% to own a total of 3,926 shares, valued at approximately $683,000.
• Investment analysts have set an average price target of $185.13 for The Hanover Insurance Group, with six analysts rating it as a Buy.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.90 per share, yielding 2.0%, with a payout ratio of 23.70%.

Bayforest Capital Ltd lifted its stake in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. (NYSE:THG - Free Report) by 881.5% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,926 shares of the insurance provider's stock after acquiring an additional 3,526 shares during the quarter. Bayforest Capital Ltd's holdings in The Hanover Insurance Group were worth $683,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of THG. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV increased its position in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group by 114.9% during the fourth quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 4,498 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $696,000 after acquiring an additional 2,405 shares during the period. Captrust Financial Advisors increased its holdings in The Hanover Insurance Group by 25.0% in the fourth quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 2,277 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $352,000 after buying an additional 455 shares during the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers increased its holdings in The Hanover Insurance Group by 11.8% in the fourth quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 4,114 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $636,000 after buying an additional 434 shares during the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG increased its holdings in The Hanover Insurance Group by 4.6% in the fourth quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 9,059 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $1,401,000 after buying an additional 396 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ethic Inc. purchased a new position in The Hanover Insurance Group in the fourth quarter valued at $232,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.61% of the company's stock.

The Hanover Insurance Group Stock Performance

Shares of THG stock traded down $1.63 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $180.47. 188,938 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 180,064. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $170.64 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $168.42. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.88 and a beta of 0.46. The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $142.48 and a 12-month high of $182.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a quick ratio of 0.37 and a current ratio of 0.37.

The Hanover Insurance Group (NYSE:THG - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The insurance provider reported $4.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.07 by $1.28. The Hanover Insurance Group had a return on equity of 20.24% and a net margin of 8.67%.The company had revenue of $1.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.60 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.88 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 3.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. will post 14.37 EPS for the current year.

The Hanover Insurance Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 26th. Investors of record on Friday, September 12th will be issued a dividend of $0.90 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 12th. This represents a $3.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.0%. The Hanover Insurance Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 23.70%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently commented on THG shares. JMP Securities set a $205.00 target price on The Hanover Insurance Group in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on The Hanover Insurance Group from $170.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Citigroup reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of The Hanover Insurance Group in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised The Hanover Insurance Group from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $188.00 target price on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, The Hanover Insurance Group presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $185.13.

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.