JMP Securities Issues Positive Forecast for The Hanover Insurance Group (NYSE:THG) Stock Price

The Hanover Insurance Group (NYSE:THG) had its target price increased by JMP Securities from $160.00 to $175.00 in a report issued on Thursday morning, Benzinga reports. They currently have a market outperform rating on the insurance provider’s stock.

A number of other research firms have also commented on THG. Piper Sandler increased their price target on The Hanover Insurance Group from $147.00 to $162.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Bank of America increased their price target on The Hanover Insurance Group from $158.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on The Hanover Insurance Group from $142.00 to $144.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 13th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $168.20.

The Hanover Insurance Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:THG opened at $147.90 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 0.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The Hanover Insurance Group has a twelve month low of $112.22 and a twelve month high of $155.84. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $147.58 and its 200-day moving average is $136.58. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.67 and a beta of 0.70.

The Hanover Insurance Group (NYSE:THG) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The insurance provider reported $3.05 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.65 by $0.40. The Hanover Insurance Group had a return on equity of 15.53% and a net margin of 5.92%. The company had revenue of $1.57 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.67 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.19 earnings per share. The Hanover Insurance Group’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.2% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that The Hanover Insurance Group will post 10.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

The Hanover Insurance Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 13th were paid a dividend of $0.85 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 13th. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.30%. The Hanover Insurance Group’s payout ratio is 33.73%.

Insider Transactions at The Hanover Insurance Group

In other news, EVP Jeffrey M. Farber sold 12,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, October 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $155.08, for a total transaction of $1,860,960.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 66,091 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,249,392.28. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, EVP Jeffrey M. Farber sold 300 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $150.00, for a total transaction of $45,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 89,733 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,459,950. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Jeffrey M. Farber sold 12,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $155.08, for a total value of $1,860,960.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 66,091 shares in the company, valued at $10,249,392.28. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 29,303 shares of company stock worth $4,372,203. 2.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of The Hanover Insurance Group

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its holdings in The Hanover Insurance Group by 5.5% during the 2nd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,341,253 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $168,247,000 after purchasing an additional 70,161 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its holdings in The Hanover Insurance Group by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 997,011 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $147,667,000 after purchasing an additional 4,717 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its holdings in The Hanover Insurance Group by 4.3% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 802,033 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $100,607,000 after purchasing an additional 33,249 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group by 4.0% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 798,109 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $100,111,000 after acquiring an additional 30,536 shares in the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group by 14,711.0% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 552,450 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $81,823,000 after acquiring an additional 548,720 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.61% of the company’s stock.

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.