The Hanover Insurance Group (NYSE:THG) Cut to “Neutral” at Janney Montgomery Scott

The Hanover Insurance Group (NYSE:THG) was downgraded by stock analysts at Janney Montgomery Scott from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note issued to investors on Thursday, MarketBeat.com reports. They presently have a $176.00 target price on the insurance provider’s stock. Janney Montgomery Scott’s price objective would suggest a potential upside of 8.44% from the company’s current price.

A number of other research analysts have also weighed in on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on The Hanover Insurance Group from $164.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Oppenheimer upped their price target on shares of The Hanover Insurance Group from $165.00 to $177.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. JMP Securities increased 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. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of The Hanover Insurance Group from $158.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Piper Sandler increased their target price on shares of The Hanover Insurance Group from $162.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $173.83.

The Hanover Insurance Group Stock Down 0.5 %

THG stock opened at $162.30 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.85 billion, a PE ratio of 16.10 and a beta of 0.70. The company has a fifty day moving average of $151.55 and a 200-day moving average of $139.13. 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 Hanover Insurance Group has a one year low of $118.48 and a one year high of $165.27.

The Hanover Insurance Group (NYSE:THG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The insurance provider reported $3.05 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $1.57 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.67 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm 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 expect that The Hanover Insurance Group will post 11.29 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Jeffrey M. Farber sold 300 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 17th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at approximately $13,459,950. This trade represents a 0.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Richard W. Lavey sold 8,468 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $144.01, for a total value of $1,219,476.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 36,281 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,224,826.81. This trade represents a 18.92 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 39,419 shares of company stock worth $6,054,037 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 2.40% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On The Hanover Insurance Group

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Captrust Financial Advisors grew its holdings in The Hanover Insurance Group by 4.7% in the 3rd quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 1,822 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $270,000 after buying an additional 81 shares during the period. Lecap Asset Management Ltd. grew its stake in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter. Lecap Asset Management Ltd. now owns 4,202 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $622,000 after buying an additional 84 shares during the period. Lowe Brockenbrough & Co. Inc. increased its holdings in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. Lowe Brockenbrough & Co. Inc. now owns 14,693 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $2,176,000 after buying an additional 91 shares during the last quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group by 4.6% in the 1st quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 2,227 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $303,000 after buying an additional 97 shares during the period. Finally, Signaturefd LLC boosted its holdings in The Hanover Insurance Group by 8.7% in the second quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,336 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $168,000 after acquiring an additional 107 shares during the last quarter. 86.61% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.