Mercury General (NYSE:MCY) Reaches New 1-Year High – What’s Next?

Mercury General Co. (NYSE:MCY)’s share price reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $67.18 and last traded at $66.97, with a volume of 40417 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $65.79.

Mercury General Stock Up 0.5 %

The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $62.52 and its 200-day moving average price is $57.55. The company has a current ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 0.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The company has a market cap of $3.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.50 and a beta of 0.81.

Mercury General (NYSE:MCY) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 30th. The insurance provider reported $1.09 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.80 by $0.29. Mercury General had a return on equity of 14.91% and a net margin of 6.36%. The business had revenue of $1.30 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.33 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted ($0.47) EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Mercury General Co. will post 4 EPS for the current year.

Mercury General Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 26th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, September 12th were issued a dividend of $0.3175 per share. This represents a $1.27 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.87%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, September 12th. Mercury General’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 32.65%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Mercury General

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System grew its position in Mercury General by 1.5% in the second 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 in the last quarter. Covestor Ltd raised its holdings in Mercury General by 20.8% during the first quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,571 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $81,000 after acquiring an additional 271 shares in the last quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp raised its holdings in Mercury General by 1.4% during the first quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp now owns 23,261 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,200,000 after acquiring an additional 311 shares in the last quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund boosted its position in Mercury General by 2.1% during the first quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 15,179 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $783,000 after purchasing an additional 315 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Diversified Trust Co grew its stake in Mercury General by 4.2% in the second quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 8,158 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $434,000 after purchasing an additional 326 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 42.39% of the company’s stock.

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.