The Hanover Insurance Group (NYSE:THG) Trading Down 0.4% – Should You Sell?

The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. (NYSE:THG) shares fell 0.4% during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $162.17 and last traded at $162.66. 9,128 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 95% from the average session volume of 174,669 shares. The stock had previously closed at $163.28.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on THG shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on The Hanover Insurance Group from $164.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Morgan Stanley started coverage on shares of The Hanover Insurance Group in a report on Thursday. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $170.00 price target on the stock. Janney Montgomery Scott cut shares of The Hanover Insurance Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $176.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Oppenheimer lifted their target price on shares of The Hanover Insurance Group from $165.00 to $177.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Piper Sandler upped their target price on shares of The Hanover Insurance Group from $162.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $173.29.

The Hanover Insurance Group Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $5.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.30 and a beta of 0.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 0.40 and a current ratio of 0.40. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $155.02 and its 200-day simple moving average is $141.25.

The Hanover Insurance Group (NYSE:THG) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The insurance provider reported $3.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.65 by $0.40. The firm had revenue of $1.57 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.67 billion. The Hanover Insurance Group had a return on equity of 15.53% and a net margin of 5.92%. The business’s revenue was up 3.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.19 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. will post 11.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

The Hanover Insurance Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 27th. Investors of record on Friday, December 13th will be given a $0.90 dividend. This represents a $3.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.19%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. This is a boost from The Hanover Insurance Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.85. The Hanover Insurance Group’s payout ratio is currently 33.73%.

Insider Buying and Selling at The Hanover Insurance Group

In other news, EVP Jeffrey M. Farber sold 1,200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $150.11, for a total transaction of $180,132.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 85,983 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,906,908.13. The trade was a 1.38 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders sold 30,551 shares of company stock worth $4,781,935 over the last 90 days. 2.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its holdings in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group by 10.7% in the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,484,592 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $219,883,000 after acquiring an additional 143,339 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its stake in The Hanover Insurance Group by 0.3% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,239,701 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $183,612,000 after purchasing an additional 3,780 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its position in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group by 0.5% during the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 997,011 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $147,667,000 after buying an additional 4,717 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. grew its stake in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group by 4.3% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 802,033 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $100,607,000 after buying an additional 33,249 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group by 4.0% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 798,109 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $100,111,000 after buying an additional 30,536 shares during the period. 86.61% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.