The Hanover Insurance Group (NYSE:THG) Issues Earnings Results

The Hanover Insurance Group (NYSE:THG) posted its earnings results on Tuesday. The insurance provider reported $5.32 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.45 by $1.87, Zacks reports. The Hanover Insurance Group had a net margin of 5.92% and a return on equity of 15.53%.

The Hanover Insurance Group Stock Down 0.6 %

NYSE:THG traded down $0.88 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $152.60. The company had a trading volume of 274,261 shares, compared to its average volume of 193,693. The Hanover Insurance Group has a twelve month low of $119.66 and a twelve month high of $166.13. 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 firm has a market cap of $5.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.14 and a beta of 0.72. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $156.01 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $149.49.

The Hanover Insurance Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 27th. Investors of record on Friday, December 13th were given a dividend of $0.90 per share. This represents a $3.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.36%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 13th. This is an increase from The Hanover Insurance Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.85. The Hanover Insurance Group’s payout ratio is presently 35.71%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Jeffrey M. Farber sold 6,114 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $162.36, for a total transaction of $992,669.04. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 54,091 shares in the company, valued at $8,782,214.76. The trade was a 10.16 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 12,100 shares of company stock worth $1,951,223. Company insiders own 2.50% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

THG has been the subject of a number of research reports. Barclays upgraded shares of The Hanover Insurance Group to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on shares of The Hanover Insurance Group from $170.00 to $176.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, January 10th. Oppenheimer raised their target price on The Hanover Insurance Group from $165.00 to $177.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Bank of America upped 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, Janney Montgomery Scott downgraded 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 report on Thursday, November 21st. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $174.88.

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.