Woodline Partners LP Acquires 216,427 Shares of The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. $THG

Key Points

• Woodline Partners LP increased its stake in The Hanover Insurance Group by 166.7%, holding 346,275 shares valued at $60.2 million after acquiring an additional 216,427 shares in Q1.
• The Hanover Insurance Group reported an earnings per share (EPS) of $4.35 for the last quarter, surpassing expectations, with a revenue of $1.58 billion, up 3.1% year-over-year.
• Recently, the company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.90 per share, which equates to an annual yield of 2.0% and is set to be paid on September 26th.

Woodline Partners LP raised its stake in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. (NYSE:THG - Free Report) by 166.7% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 346,275 shares of the insurance provider's stock after buying an additional 216,427 shares during the period. Woodline Partners LP owned about 0.96% of The Hanover Insurance Group worth $60,235,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in THG. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. purchased a new stake in The Hanover Insurance Group during the 1st quarter valued at $64,340,000. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in The Hanover Insurance Group by 45.1% during the 1st quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. now owns 907,760 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $157,905,000 after buying an additional 282,233 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its stake in The Hanover Insurance Group by 59.3% during the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 457,809 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $79,032,000 after buying an additional 170,453 shares during the last quarter. Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC purchased a new stake in The Hanover Insurance Group during the 4th quarter valued at $15,137,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in The Hanover Insurance Group by 25,505.0% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 86,801 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $150,990,000 after buying an additional 86,462 shares during the last quarter. 86.61% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

The Hanover Insurance Group Trading Down 0.9%

THG stock traded down $1.63 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $180.47. The company had a trading volume of 188,938 shares, compared to its average volume of 180,064. 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 capitalization of $6.46 billion, a PE ratio of 11.88 and a beta of 0.46. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $170.64 and a 200 day moving average of $168.37. The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $142.48 and a 12 month high of $182.64.

The Hanover Insurance Group (NYSE:THG - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The insurance provider reported $4.35 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 company's revenue for the quarter was up 3.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.88 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. will post 14.37 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

The Hanover Insurance Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 12th will be paid a dividend of $0.90 per share. The ex-dividend date 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%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. Citigroup reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of The Hanover Insurance Group in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. JMP Securities set a $205.00 price objective on The Hanover Insurance Group in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised The Hanover Insurance Group from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $188.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of 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. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $185.13.

The Hanover Insurance Group 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.