The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. (NYSE:THG) Receives Average Rating of "Moderate Buy" from Analysts

Key Points

• The Hanover Insurance Group has received an average analyst rating of "Moderate Buy", with four hold recommendations and seven buy ratings from eleven brokerages.
• Analysts have set a one-year price target for the stock at an average of $185.13, with varied targets ranging from $170 to $205.
• The company reported earnings of $4.35 per share for the last quarter, significantly exceeding analyst estimates, and plans to pay a quarterly dividend of $0.90 to shareholders, representing a 2.0% yield.

The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. (NYSE:THG - Get Free Report) has received an average rating of "Moderate Buy" from the eleven brokerages that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and seven have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price target among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $185.1250.

Several analysts have issued reports on THG shares. Citigroup restated an "outperform" rating on shares of The Hanover Insurance Group in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of The Hanover Insurance Group in a report on Saturday, September 27th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective 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. JMP Securities set a $205.00 target price on The Hanover Insurance Group in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, 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 report on Wednesday, July 9th.

The Hanover Insurance Group Price Performance

NYSE THG opened at $184.03 on Friday. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $174.56 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $169.41. 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 company has a market cap of $6.58 billion, a PE ratio of 12.12 and a beta of 0.44. The Hanover Insurance Group has a 1 year low of $142.48 and a 1 year high of $184.97.

The Hanover Insurance Group (NYSE:THG - Get Free Report) last posted 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 firm had revenue of $1.58 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.60 billion. The Hanover Insurance Group had a return on equity of 20.24% and a net margin of 8.67%.The business's revenue for the quarter was up 3.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.88 EPS. On average, analysts predict that The Hanover Insurance Group will post 14.37 EPS for the current year.

The Hanover Insurance Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 12th were issued a $0.90 dividend. The ex-dividend date was 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 is currently 23.70%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On The Hanover Insurance Group

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in THG. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its holdings in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group by 31.4% in the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 8,351 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $1,292,000 after purchasing an additional 1,996 shares during the period. Rhumbline Advisers increased its holdings in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group by 0.6% in the 1st quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 111,541 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $19,403,000 after purchasing an additional 635 shares during the period. NBC Securities Inc. acquired a new position in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group in the 1st quarter valued at about $102,000. Merit Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group in the 1st quarter valued at about $217,000. Finally, Vest Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $848,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.61% of the company's stock.

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.

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