Mercury General (NYSE:MCY) Stock Price Down 3.6% – Time to Sell?

Mercury General Co. (NYSE:MCY) shares fell 3.6% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as low as $51.00 and last traded at $51.00. 36,124 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 97% from the average session volume of 1,084,673 shares. The stock had previously closed at $52.90.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, StockNews.com lowered Mercury General from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 26th.

Mercury General Stock Performance

The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $69.11 and its 200 day moving average price is $64.34. The firm has a market cap of $2.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 4.78 and a beta of 0.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 0.33 and a current ratio of 0.33.

Mercury General (NYSE:MCY) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The insurance provider reported $2.54 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.14 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Mercury General Co. will post 5.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mercury General Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 26th. Investors of record on Thursday, December 12th were given a dividend of $0.317 per share. This represents a $1.27 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.63%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, December 12th. Mercury General’s payout ratio is currently 12.59%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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 stock was sold at an average price of $77.28, for a total value of $83,153.28. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 35.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Mercury General

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Sheets Smith Wealth Management increased its position in shares of Mercury General by 40.4% in the 4th quarter. Sheets Smith Wealth Management now owns 8,030 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $534,000 after acquiring an additional 2,312 shares during the period. Hennessy Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Mercury General by 6.8% in the fourth quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc. now owns 192,300 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $12,784,000 after purchasing an additional 12,300 shares during the period. Gunderson Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Mercury General by 13.9% in the fourth quarter. Gunderson Capital Management Inc. now owns 60,059 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $3,993,000 after purchasing an additional 7,337 shares during the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Mercury General by 3.3% during the fourth quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 7,496 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $498,000 after purchasing an additional 238 shares during the period. Finally, Diversified Trust Co boosted its holdings in shares of Mercury General by 9.9% in the 4th quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 8,909 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $592,000 after acquiring an additional 801 shares during the last quarter. 42.39% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Mercury General Company Profile

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.