Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Buys Shares of 2,504 The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. (NYSE:THG)

Key Points

• Jefferies Financial Group Inc. has acquired a total of 2,504 shares of The Hanover Insurance Group, valued at approximately $436,000, marking an increase in institutional investment in the company.
• Research firms have positively upgraded their ratings for The Hanover Insurance Group, with Morgan Stanley raising the price target from $170 to $185 and Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgrading their rating from "market perform" to "outperform."
• The Hanover Insurance Group reported a quarterly earnings per share (EPS) of $4.35, significantly beating the consensus estimate of $3.07, along with a year-over-year revenue increase of 3.1% despite slightly missing revenue expectations.

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. (NYSE:THG - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 2,504 shares of the insurance provider's stock, valued at approximately $436,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in The Hanover Insurance Group by 4.2% during the fourth quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,087,786 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $168,237,000 after purchasing an additional 43,918 shares in the last quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. now owns 625,527 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $96,744,000 after buying an additional 4,168 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group by 40.7% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 383,670 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $59,338,000 after buying an additional 110,944 shares in the last quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. bought a new position in The Hanover Insurance Group in the 1st quarter worth $64,340,000. Finally, Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. increased its stake in The Hanover Insurance Group by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 324,761 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $50,228,000 after buying an additional 5,245 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.61% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently commented on THG. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on The Hanover Insurance Group from $170.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded 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 research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Citigroup reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of The Hanover Insurance Group in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of The Hanover Insurance Group from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, JMP Securities set a $205.00 price target on The Hanover Insurance Group in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $185.13.

The Hanover Insurance Group Price Performance

NYSE THG opened at $173.36 on Thursday. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $168.25 and its 200 day moving average price is $165.43. The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $130.69 and a 1 year high of $178.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a current ratio of 0.37 and a quick ratio of 0.37. The company has a market cap of $6.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.41 and a beta of 0.45.

The Hanover Insurance Group (NYSE:THG - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The insurance provider reported $4.35 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.07 by $1.28. The business had revenue of $1.58 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.60 billion. The Hanover Insurance Group had a net margin of 8.67% and a return on equity of 20.24%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 3.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.88 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. will post 14.37 earnings per share for the current year.

The Hanover Insurance Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 13th were given a dividend of $0.90 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 13th. This represents a $3.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.1%. The Hanover Insurance Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 23.70%.

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.

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