Mercury General Corporation Plans Quarterly Dividend of $0.32 (NYSE:MCY)

Mercury General Corporation (NYSE:MCY) declared a quarterly dividend on Tuesday, November 4th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 10th will be paid a dividend of 0.3175 per share by the insurance provider on Wednesday, December 24th. This represents a c) dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, December 10th.

Mercury General has decreased its dividend by an average of 0.1%per year over the last three years. Mercury General has a dividend payout ratio of 19.0% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Research analysts expect Mercury General to earn $5.25 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.27 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 24.2%.

Mercury General Stock Up 3.1%

Shares of NYSE MCY traded up $2.50 on Wednesday, reaching $82.27. 143,294 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 439,321. The company has a market cap of $4.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.66 and a beta of 0.98. The company has a quick ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $79.92 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $70.46. Mercury General has a 12 month low of $44.19 and a 12 month high of $87.67.

Mercury General (NYSE:MCY) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 4th. The insurance provider reported $3.86 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.15 by $1.71. The company had revenue of $1.58 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.49 billion. Mercury General had a net margin of 6.76% and a return on equity of 16.61%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Mercury General will post -0.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Mercury General

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its holdings in Mercury General by 236.0% in the third quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 457 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 321 shares during the last quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Mercury General during the 1st quarter worth $50,000. State of Wyoming purchased a new position in shares of Mercury General during the 3rd quarter worth $72,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Mercury General by 194.2% during the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,209 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $81,000 after acquiring an additional 798 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP purchased a new position in shares of Mercury General during the 1st quarter worth $141,000. Hedge funds and other 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.