Oak Thistle LLC Makes New Investment in The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. $THG

Oak Thistle LLC bought a new position in The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. (NYSE:THG) in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm bought 7,713 shares of the insurance provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,401,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in The Hanover Insurance Group during the second quarter worth about $77,169,000. Alliancebernstein L.P. boosted its holdings in The Hanover Insurance Group by 36.1% in the 2nd quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 1,280,418 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $217,505,000 after purchasing an additional 339,896 shares during the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP grew its stake in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group by 166.7% in the 1st quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 346,275 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $60,235,000 after buying an additional 216,427 shares during the period. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. increased its holdings in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group by 52.9% during the 2nd quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. now owns 558,000 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $94,787,000 after buying an additional 193,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group by 59.3% during the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 457,809 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $79,032,000 after buying an additional 170,453 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.61% of the company’s stock.

The Hanover Insurance Group Stock Up 0.5%

Shares of NYSE THG opened at $184.65 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 0.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. The business’s 50 day moving average is $178.54 and its two-hundred day moving average is $174.24. The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $145.17 and a 52-week high of $188.18. The firm has a market cap of $6.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.68 and a beta of 0.33.

The Hanover Insurance Group (NYSE:THG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The insurance provider reported $5.09 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.79 by $1.30. The Hanover Insurance Group had a return on equity of 21.73% and a net margin of 9.71%.The business had revenue of $1.67 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.72 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $3.05 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. will post 14.37 EPS for the current year.

The Hanover Insurance Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 26th. Investors of record on Friday, December 12th will be issued a dividend of $0.95 per share. This is a positive change from The Hanover Insurance Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.90. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 12th. This represents a $3.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.1%. The Hanover Insurance Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 21.98%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other The Hanover Insurance Group news, EVP Denise Lowsley sold 1,619 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $181.47, for a total transaction of $293,799.93. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 3,511 shares in the company, valued at $637,141.17. This represents a 31.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 2.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently commented on THG. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of The Hanover Insurance Group in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on The Hanover Insurance Group from $198.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 4th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on The Hanover Insurance Group from $185.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 7th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada began coverage on The Hanover Insurance Group in a research report on Monday, November 24th. They set a “sector perform” rating and a $200.00 price objective for the company. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $195.83.

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.