Mercury General (NYSE:MCY) Reaches New 52-Week High Following Analyst Upgrade

Shares of Mercury General Corporation (NYSE:MCY) reached a new 52-week high during trading on Wednesday after Zacks Research upgraded the stock from a hold rating to a strong-buy rating. The stock traded as high as $88.54 and last traded at $88.2640, with a volume of 23371 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $86.96.

Several other analysts also recently weighed in on the company. Wall Street Zen upgraded Mercury General from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 2nd. Raymond James Financial reissued a “strong-buy” rating and set a $100.00 target price (up previously from $90.00) on shares of Mercury General in a research note on Monday, September 22nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Mercury General in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and one has assigned a Buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Mercury General has an average rating of “Strong Buy” and an average price target of $100.00.

Institutional Trading of Mercury General

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of MCY. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Mercury General in the 3rd quarter valued at about $34,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased 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 in the last quarter. Caitlin John LLC bought a new stake in Mercury General in the third quarter worth approximately $41,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in Mercury General in the first quarter valued at approximately $50,000. Finally, State of Wyoming bought a new position in shares of Mercury General during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $72,000. Institutional investors own 42.39% of the company’s stock.

Mercury General Trading Up 1.0%

The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $81.19 and its 200 day moving average price is $71.98. The company has a market cap of $4.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.53 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a current ratio of 0.43, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29.

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

Mercury General Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 24th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 10th will be paid a $0.3175 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, December 10th. This represents a $1.27 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.4%. Mercury General’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 16.02%.

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.