The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. (NYSE:THG) Plans $0.90 Quarterly Dividend

Key Points

• The Hanover Insurance Group declared a quarterly dividend of $0.90 per share, with a dividend yield of 2.1% and a payout ratio of 22.3%, indicating earnings sufficiently cover the dividend.
• The company's stock opened at $173.47, with a market capitalization of $6.21 billion and a P/E ratio of 11.42.
• For the last quarter, Hanover reported earnings of $4.35 per share, which exceeded analysts' estimates, and had revenue of $1.58 billion, reflecting a 3.1% year-over-year increase.

The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. (NYSE:THG - Get Free Report) announced a quarterly dividend on Tuesday, September 2nd, RTT News reports. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 12th will be given a dividend of 0.90 per share by the insurance provider on Friday, September 26th. This represents a c) dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 12th.

The Hanover Insurance Group has a payout ratio of 22.3% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research analysts expect The Hanover Insurance Group to earn $15.75 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $3.60 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 22.9%.

The Hanover Insurance Group Stock Down 2.1%

Shares of NYSE:THG traded down $3.76 during trading on Friday, reaching $177.58. The stock had a trading volume of 194,133 shares, compared to its average volume of 183,708. The Hanover Insurance Group has a one year low of $142.48 and a one year high of $181.38. The company has a market capitalization of $6.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.69 and a beta of 0.46. The company has a current ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 0.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $169.22 and its 200 day simple moving average is $167.66.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on THG. JMP Securities set a $205.00 price target on shares of The Hanover Insurance Group in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded shares of The Hanover Insurance Group from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $188.00 price target on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Citigroup reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of The Hanover Insurance Group in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted 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 research note on Friday, August 1st. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $185.13.

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.