Mercury General (NYSE:MCY) Cut to Buy at StockNews.com

StockNews.com lowered shares of Mercury General (NYSE:MCY) from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a research note released on Thursday.

Mercury General Trading Down 2.3 %

Shares of Mercury General stock opened at $66.98 on Thursday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $72.08 and a 200-day simple moving average of $63.64. Mercury General has a fifty-two week low of $36.96 and a fifty-two week high of $80.72. The firm has a market cap of $3.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.64 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a quick ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 0.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31.

Mercury General (NYSE:MCY) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The insurance provider reported $2.54 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.15 by $1.39. The company had revenue of $1.53 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.37 billion. Mercury General had a net margin of 10.18% and a return on equity of 18.04%. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.14 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Mercury General will post 6.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mercury General Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 26th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 12th were given a $0.317 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, December 12th. This represents a $1.27 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.89%. Mercury General’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 12.59%.

Insider Activity

In other Mercury General news, VP Heidi C. Sullivan sold 1,076 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.28, for a total value of $83,153.28. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 35.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Mercury General

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in MCY. National Bank of Canada FI acquired a new position in Mercury General during the second quarter valued at $32,000. Allworth Financial LP grew its stake in Mercury General by 1,190.5% during the 3rd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 542 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 500 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP increased its holdings in shares of Mercury General by 112.0% in the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,215 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $65,000 after purchasing an additional 642 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its position in shares of Mercury General by 72.0% in the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,151 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $72,000 after purchasing an additional 482 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CWM LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Mercury General by 115.8% during the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,215 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $77,000 after purchasing an additional 652 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 42.39% of the company’s stock.

About Mercury General

Mercury General Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, engages in writing personal automobile insurance in the United States. The company also writes homeowners, commercial automobile, commercial property, mechanical protection, and umbrella insurance products. Its automobile insurance products include collision, property damage, bodily injury, comprehensive, personal injury protection, underinsured and uninsured motorist, and other hazards; and homeowners insurance products comprise dwelling, liability, personal property, and other coverages.