Zacks Research Upgrades Mercury General (NYSE:MCY) to Strong-Buy

Mercury General (NYSE:MCY) was upgraded by analysts at Zacks Research from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report issued on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

Separately, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Mercury General from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 23rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and one has assigned a Buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Strong Buy” and a consensus price target of $100.00.

Mercury General Stock Down 2.0%

NYSE:MCY opened at $99.56 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $5.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.56 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a current ratio of 0.44. Mercury General has a fifty-two week low of $60.41 and a fifty-two week high of $103.86. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $94.56 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $91.94.

Mercury General (NYSE:MCY) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 5th. The insurance provider reported $3.50 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.15 by $1.35. The business had revenue of $1.54 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.46 billion. Mercury General had a net margin of 13.68% and a return on equity of 32.94%. Analysts predict that Mercury General will post 11.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Mercury General

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Cetera Investment Advisers grew its stake in shares of Mercury General by 2.2% in the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 5,284 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $466,000 after acquiring an additional 112 shares during the period. Allworth Financial LP boosted its position in Mercury General by 18.6% in the third quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 753 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $64,000 after purchasing an additional 118 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in Mercury General by 19.2% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 752 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $71,000 after purchasing an additional 121 shares during the last quarter. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC boosted its position in Mercury General by 32.6% in the first quarter. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC now owns 541 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $48,000 after purchasing an additional 133 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Royce & Associates LP boosted its position in Mercury General by 0.6% in the third quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 28,511 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $2,417,000 after purchasing an additional 157 shares during the last quarter. 42.39% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Mercury General

Mercury General Corporation is a holding company headquartered in Los Angeles, California, that underwrites and markets property and casualty insurance products through its principal subsidiary, Mercury Insurance Company. Established in 1961, the company has built a reputation for offering a broad range of personal and commercial lines, with a focus on automobile coverage. Mercury General operates in key U.S. markets, deploying a mix of independent agents and direct distribution channels to serve policyholders.

The company’s product portfolio includes personal automobile insurance, homeowners and renters policies, as well as commercial automobile, business liability and umbrella insurance.