The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. (NYSE:THG) Receives Consensus Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from Brokerages

Key Points

• The Hanover Insurance Group has a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating from 10 analysts, with an average 12-month price target of $223.29. Ratings include six holds, three buys and one strong buy.
• THG reported quarterly earnings of $5.31 per share, beating expectations of $3.84, while revenue of $1.73 billion exceeded estimates and rose 4.6% year over year.
• The company authorized a $700 million share-repurchase program and pays a quarterly dividend of $0.95 per share, equivalent to a 1.6% yield; insiders have sold more than $5 million of stock over the past three months.

The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. (NYSE:THG - Get Free Report) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the ten analysts that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, three have given a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 1 year price target among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $223.2857.

Several research firms have issued reports on THG. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on The Hanover Insurance Group from $220.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated a "market perform" rating and issued a $220.00 target price (up from $211.00) on shares of The Hanover Insurance Group in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. BMO Capital Markets lowered shares of The Hanover Insurance Group from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating and upped their target price for the stock from $194.00 to $203.00 in a report on Tuesday, May 19th. Citigroup reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of The Hanover Insurance Group in a research report on Friday, July 10th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of The Hanover Insurance Group from a "buy (a-)" rating to a "buy (a)" rating in a report on Thursday.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO John C. Roche sold 8,358 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $193.74, for a total value of $1,619,278.92. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 141,011 shares of the company's stock, valued at $27,319,471.14. The trade was a 5.60% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Denise Lowsley sold 4,175 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $191.73, for a total value of $800,472.75. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 3,883 shares in the company, valued at approximately $744,487.59. This trade represents a 51.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 26,108 shares of company stock worth $5,063,751. 2.80% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of The Hanover Insurance Group

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in THG. JPL Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in The Hanover Insurance Group during the 3rd quarter worth about $26,000. McMillan Office Inc. acquired a new stake in The Hanover Insurance Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Entrust Financial LLC acquired a new stake in The Hanover Insurance Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. Root Financial Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group by 69.3% in the first quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC now owns 237 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 97 shares during the last quarter. Finally, IFP Advisors Inc raised its stake in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group by 146.2% in the fourth quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 256 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $47,000 after acquiring an additional 152 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.61% of the company's stock.

The Hanover Insurance Group Trading Up 1.2%

THG stock opened at $232.88 on Friday. The Hanover Insurance Group has a 1-year low of $165.17 and a 1-year high of $235.15. The company has a current ratio of 0.38, a quick ratio of 0.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. The business's 50 day moving average is $206.86 and its 200-day moving average is $187.68. The firm has a market cap of $8.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.12 and a beta of 0.28.

The Hanover Insurance Group (NYSE:THG - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 28th. The insurance provider reported $5.31 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.84 by $1.47. The business had revenue of $1.73 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.65 billion. The Hanover Insurance Group had a return on equity of 21.72% and a net margin of 11.17%.The Hanover Insurance Group's revenue was up 4.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $4.35 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that The Hanover Insurance Group will post 18.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

The Hanover Insurance Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 12th were paid a dividend of $0.95 per share. This represents a $3.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 12th. The Hanover Insurance Group's dividend payout ratio is currently 18.14%.

The Hanover Insurance Group announced that its board has authorized a stock buyback program on Wednesday, May 13th that permits the company to buyback $700.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization permits the insurance provider to reacquire up to 10.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically an indication that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

The Hanover Insurance Group Company Profile

The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc NYSE: THG is a property and casualty insurance company that provides a range of commercial and personal insurance products. Through its subsidiary companies, Hanover offers coverage for businesses of all sizes, including workers' compensation, general liability, commercial auto, and professional liability. On the personal lines side, the company underwrites homeowners, personal auto, flood, and umbrella policies designed to meet the needs of individuals and families.

In addition to its core commercial and personal insurance offerings, Hanover maintains a specialty arm that focuses on niche markets through tailored product solutions.

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