The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. (NYSE:THG) Receives Consensus Recommendation of "Hold" from Analysts

Shares of The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. (NYSE:THG - Get Free Report) have received a consensus rating of "Hold" from the nine ratings firms that are covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $179.50.

A number of brokerages have recently commented on THG. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of The Hanover Insurance Group from $163.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, May 19th. Piper Sandler upped their price target on shares of The Hanover Insurance Group from $190.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. Wall Street Zen raised shares of The Hanover Insurance Group from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. JMP Securities upped their price target on shares of The Hanover Insurance Group from $175.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a "market outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on shares of The Hanover Insurance Group from $171.00 to $173.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Bryan J. Salvatore sold 10,526 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $166.60, for a total transaction of $1,753,631.60. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 25,864 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,308,942.40. This trade represents a 28.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO John C. Roche sold 200 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $175.01, for a total transaction of $35,002.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 124,278 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,749,892.78. This represents a 0.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 11,027 shares of company stock valued at $1,841,309. 2.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On The Hanover Insurance Group

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in The Hanover Insurance Group by 0.6% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,635,173 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $632,338,000 after buying an additional 21,221 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its holdings in The Hanover Insurance Group by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,489,391 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $230,349,000 after buying an additional 4,799 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in The Hanover Insurance Group by 28.6% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,217,919 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $188,363,000 after buying an additional 270,491 shares during the period. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in The Hanover Insurance Group by 4.2% in the 4th 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 buying an additional 43,918 shares during the period. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. increased its holdings in The Hanover Insurance Group by 15.7% in the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 958,858 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $148,297,000 after buying an additional 130,054 shares during the period. 86.61% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

The Hanover Insurance Group Stock Down 0.4%

Shares of The Hanover Insurance Group stock traded down $0.68 on Monday, hitting $172.68. The company had a trading volume of 19,779 shares, compared to its average volume of 211,033. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.76 and a beta of 0.44. The Hanover Insurance Group has a twelve month low of $119.66 and a twelve month high of $178.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 0.40 and a quick ratio of 0.40. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $165.59 and a 200-day moving average of $162.22.

The Hanover Insurance Group (NYSE:THG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The insurance provider reported $3.87 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.58 by $0.29. The business had revenue of $1.51 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.55 billion. The Hanover Insurance Group had a net margin of 6.83% and a return on equity of 18.01%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 3.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $3.08 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that The Hanover Insurance Group will post 14.37 earnings per share for the current year.

The Hanover Insurance Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 27th. Investors of record on Friday, June 13th will be given a dividend of $0.90 per share. This represents a $3.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.08%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 13th. The Hanover Insurance Group's dividend payout ratio is 29.98%.

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.