The Hanover Insurance Group (NYSE:THG) Price Target Raised to $170.00

The Hanover Insurance Group (NYSE:THG) had its target price increased by Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $164.00 to $170.00 in a research note published on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a market perform rating on the insurance provider’s stock.

A number of other equities analysts also recently commented on the company. Bank of America lifted their target price on The Hanover Insurance Group from $158.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on The Hanover Insurance Group from $165.00 to $177.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Piper Sandler increased their target price on The Hanover Insurance Group from $162.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, JMP Securities boosted their price target on shares of The Hanover Insurance Group from $160.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Two investment 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 Hanover Insurance Group has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $173.40.

The Hanover Insurance Group Price Performance

Shares of THG opened at $159.62 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 0.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The firm has a market cap of $5.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.84 and a beta of 0.70. The Hanover Insurance Group has a 52 week low of $112.22 and a 52 week high of $160.23. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $148.87 and a 200-day moving average of $137.34.

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 net margin of 5.92% and a return on equity of 15.53%. The company had revenue of $1.57 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.67 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.19 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 3.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that The Hanover Insurance Group will post 11.29 EPS for the current year.

The Hanover Insurance Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 13th were given a dividend of $0.85 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 13th. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.13%. The Hanover Insurance Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 33.73%.

Insider Transactions at The Hanover Insurance Group

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On The Hanover Insurance Group

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its holdings in The Hanover Insurance Group by 65.9% during the first quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 11,926 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,624,000 after acquiring an additional 4,738 shares during the period. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp lifted its stake in The Hanover Insurance Group by 1.4% during the first quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp now owns 31,332 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $4,266,000 after purchasing an additional 439 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. boosted its holdings in The Hanover Insurance Group by 9.3% during the first quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 3,727 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $507,000 after buying an additional 316 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its position in The Hanover Insurance Group by 124.7% in the first quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 3,642 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $496,000 after buying an additional 2,021 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sei Investments Co. increased its holdings in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group by 2.7% in the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 138,338 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $18,837,000 after buying an additional 3,689 shares in the last quarter. 86.61% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.