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

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

Mercury General Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:MCY opened at $68.19 on Wednesday. Mercury General has a 52 week low of $36.96 and a 52 week high of $80.72. The company’s 50 day moving average is $71.90 and its two-hundred day moving average is $63.08. The company has a market cap of $3.78 billion, a PE ratio of 6.76 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a current ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 0.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31.

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

Mercury General Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 26th. Investors of record on Thursday, December 12th will be issued a $0.317 dividend. This represents a $1.27 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.86%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, December 12th. Mercury General’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 12.59%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Mercury General

In related news, VP Heidi C. Sullivan sold 1,076 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 the SEC website. 35.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Mercury General

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System boosted its position in shares of Mercury General by 1.5% in the 2nd quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 13,400 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $712,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its stake in Mercury General by 2.6% in the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 15,660 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $832,000 after buying an additional 396 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Mercury General by 4.6% in the third quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 10,287 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $648,000 after acquiring an additional 454 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its position in shares of Mercury General by 1.0% during the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 47,882 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $3,016,000 after acquiring an additional 481 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Mercury General by 72.0% in the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,151 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $72,000 after acquiring an additional 482 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.