The Hanover Insurance Group (NYSE:THG) Lowered to “Hold” Rating by Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen cut shares of The Hanover Insurance Group (NYSE:THG) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report released on Saturday.

A number of other analysts also recently issued reports on THG. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of The Hanover Insurance Group in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Royal Bank Of Canada initiated coverage on shares of The Hanover Insurance Group in a research report on Monday, November 24th. They set a “sector perform” rating and a $200.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on shares of The Hanover Insurance Group from $207.00 to $208.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, The Hanover Insurance Group currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $200.60.

The Hanover Insurance Group Stock Up 0.9%

The Hanover Insurance Group stock opened at $180.79 on Friday. The Hanover Insurance Group has a 12 month low of $147.76 and a 12 month high of $188.18. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $175.74 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $177.15. The company has a current ratio of 0.44, a quick ratio of 0.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. The firm has a market cap of $6.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.95 and a beta of 0.32.

The Hanover Insurance Group (NYSE:THG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 20th. The insurance provider reported $5.46 EPS for the quarter. The Hanover Insurance Group had a return on equity of 21.00% and a net margin of 10.05%.The company had revenue of $1.67 billion for the quarter. Equities analysts predict that The Hanover Insurance Group will post 14.37 EPS for the current fiscal year.

The Hanover Insurance Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.95 per share. This represents a $3.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 13th. The Hanover Insurance Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 20.91%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Richard W. Lavey sold 24,420 shares of The Hanover Insurance Group stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $178.92, for a total transaction of $4,369,226.40. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 32,174 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,756,572.08. The trade was a 43.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 2.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $83,817,000. Alliancebernstein L.P. lifted its holdings in The Hanover Insurance Group by 36.1% during the second 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 in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group by 37.8% in the third quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 763,431 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $137,967,000 after purchasing an additional 209,616 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group by 44.1% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 646,910 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $118,236,000 after purchasing an additional 197,930 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Balyasny Asset Management L.P. raised its position in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group by 206.0% during the 3rd quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 292,121 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $53,058,000 after purchasing an additional 196,655 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 86.61% of the company’s stock.

The Hanover Insurance Group Company Profile

The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc (NYSE: THG) is a property and casualty insurance company that provides a range of commercial and personal insurance products. Through its subsidiary companies, Hanover offers coverage for businesses of all sizes, including workers’ compensation, general liability, commercial auto, and professional liability. On the personal lines side, the company underwrites homeowners, personal auto, flood, and umbrella policies designed to meet the needs of individuals and families.

In addition to its core commercial and personal insurance offerings, Hanover maintains a specialty arm that focuses on niche markets through tailored product solutions.