The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. (NYSE:THG) Short Interest Update

The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. (NYSE:THG) was the target of a significant growth in short interest in November. As of November 15th, there was short interest totalling 315,500 shares, a growth of 27.1% from the October 31st total of 248,300 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 189,700 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.7 days. Approximately 0.9% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on THG. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on shares of The Hanover Insurance Group from $164.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on shares of 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. Janney Montgomery Scott cut The Hanover Insurance Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $176.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Oppenheimer raised their price objective on 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. Finally, Bank of America boosted their target price on The Hanover Insurance Group from $158.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, The Hanover Insurance Group currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $173.83.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Jeffrey M. Farber sold 1,200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $150.11, for a total transaction of $180,132.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 85,983 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,906,908.13. This trade represents a 1.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders sold 30,551 shares of company stock worth $4,781,935 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 2.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Captrust Financial Advisors increased its position 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 worth $270,000 after purchasing an additional 81 shares during the last quarter. Lecap Asset Management Ltd. increased its holdings in The Hanover Insurance Group by 2.0% in the third quarter. Lecap Asset Management Ltd. now owns 4,202 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $622,000 after buying an additional 84 shares during the last quarter. Lowe Brockenbrough & Co. Inc. raised its position in The Hanover Insurance Group by 0.6% during the third quarter. Lowe Brockenbrough & Co. Inc. now owns 14,693 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $2,176,000 after acquiring an additional 91 shares in the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC lifted its stake 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. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. grew its position in The Hanover Insurance Group by 35.4% in the third quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 417 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $62,000 after acquiring an additional 109 shares in the last quarter. 86.61% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

The Hanover Insurance Group Stock Up 0.5 %

NYSE:THG traded up $0.74 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $165.01. 124,510 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 175,526. The firm has a market cap of $5.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.37 and a beta of 0.70. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $153.76 and a 200 day moving average price of $140.48. 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 Hanover Insurance Group has a fifty-two week low of $119.36 and a fifty-two week high of $166.13.

The Hanover Insurance Group (NYSE:THG) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 Hanover Insurance Group had a return on equity of 15.53% and a net margin of 5.92%. The firm had revenue of $1.57 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.67 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.19 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that The Hanover Insurance Group will post 11.43 earnings per share for the current year.

The Hanover Insurance Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 27th. Investors of record on Friday, September 13th were issued a dividend of $0.85 per share. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.06%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 13th. The Hanover Insurance Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 33.73%.

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.