Mercury General (NYSE:MCY) Shares Gap Down – Here’s Why

Mercury General Co. (NYSE:MCY)’s stock price gapped down before the market opened on Friday . The stock had previously closed at $60.70, but opened at $48.77. Mercury General shares last traded at $50.40, with a volume of 1,363,252 shares traded.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Mercury General Stock Down 19.8 %

The company has a market cap of $2.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 4.82 and a beta of 0.87. The company has a current ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 0.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $71.19 and its 200-day moving average price is $64.51.

Mercury General (NYSE:MCY) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The insurance provider reported $2.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.15 by $1.39. The company had revenue of $1.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 last year, the firm earned $1.14 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Mercury General Co. will post 6.35 EPS for the current year.

Mercury General Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 26th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, December 12th were paid a $0.317 dividend. This represents a $1.27 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.60%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, December 12th. Mercury General’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 12.59%.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Heidi C. Sullivan sold 1,076 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 35.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Mercury General

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of Mercury General by 3.3% in the 4th quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 7,496 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $498,000 after acquiring an additional 238 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its position in shares of Mercury General by 2.6% in the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 15,660 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $832,000 after acquiring an additional 396 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC raised its position in shares of Mercury General by 4.6% in the 3rd 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 raised its position in shares of Mercury General by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 47,882 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $3,016,000 after acquiring an additional 481 shares during the period. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. raised its holdings in Mercury General by 72.0% during the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,151 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $72,000 after buying an additional 482 shares during the period. 42.39% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.