Short Interest in The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. (NYSE:THG) Drops By 22.6%

The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. (NYSE:THG) was the recipient of a large drop in short interest in October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 248,300 shares, a drop of 22.6% from the October 15th total of 320,700 shares. Currently, 0.7% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 177,600 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.4 days.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have commented on the stock. Oppenheimer lifted their target price 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 raised their target price on shares of The Hanover Insurance Group from $160.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Piper Sandler upped 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. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of The Hanover Insurance Group from $158.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, 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. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $173.40.

The Hanover Insurance Group Stock Up 0.9 %

Shares of NYSE:THG traded up $1.39 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $163.48. 163,501 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 187,902. The Hanover Insurance Group has a twelve month low of $116.70 and a twelve month high of $164.67. The company has a market cap of $5.89 billion, a PE ratio of 16.22 and a beta of 0.70. 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 firm’s fifty day moving average price is $150.50 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $138.47.

The Hanover Insurance Group (NYSE:THG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The insurance provider reported $3.05 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 company had revenue of $1.57 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.67 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.19 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 3.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that The Hanover Insurance Group will post 11.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

The Hanover Insurance Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 13th were paid a dividend of $0.85 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 13th. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.08%. The Hanover Insurance Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 33.73%.

Insider Buying and Selling at The Hanover Insurance Group

In other news, Director Kathy S. Lane sold 1,884 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $134.23, for a total value of $252,889.32. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Jeffrey M. Farber sold 6,114 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $162.36, for a total value of $992,669.04. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 54,091 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,782,214.76. The trade was a 10.16 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 41,303 shares of company stock worth $6,306,926. 2.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in THG. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group during the second quarter valued at about $25,000. True Wealth Design LLC acquired a new stake in The Hanover Insurance Group during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. V Square Quantitative Management LLC purchased a new stake in The Hanover Insurance Group during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Finally, GHP Investment Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group by 64.9% during the 2nd quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 427 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $54,000 after buying an additional 168 shares during the last quarter. 86.61% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.