Mercury General (NYSE:MCY) Shares Gap Up – Should You Buy?

Mercury General Corporation (NYSE:MCY) gapped up before the market opened on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $103.15, but opened at $107.01. Mercury General shares last traded at $106.7560, with a volume of 12,133 shares changing hands.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on MCY shares. Wall Street Zen lowered Mercury General from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, June 13th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Mercury General in a research report on Thursday, June 4th. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of Mercury General from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 26th. Two 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, the company currently has an average rating of “Strong Buy” and a consensus target price of $100.00.

Mercury General Price Performance

The company has a current ratio of 0.44, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $98.99 and a 200-day simple moving average of $93.38. The stock has a market cap of $5.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.05 and a beta of 0.91.

Mercury General (NYSE:MCY) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 5th. The insurance provider reported $3.50 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.15 by $1.35. The company had revenue of $1.54 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.46 billion. Mercury General had a return on equity of 32.94% and a net margin of 13.68%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Mercury General Corporation will post 11.38 EPS for the current year.

Mercury General Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 25th. Investors of record on Thursday, June 11th will be paid a dividend of $0.3175 per share. This represents a $1.27 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, June 11th. Mercury General’s dividend payout ratio is presently 8.37%.

Institutional Trading of Mercury General

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Royal Bank of Canada increased its holdings in shares of Mercury General by 58.8% during the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 54,312 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $3,036,000 after purchasing an additional 20,115 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Mercury General by 4.6% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 15,935 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $891,000 after buying an additional 702 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Mercury General by 8.5% in the first quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 111,327 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $6,223,000 after buying an additional 8,742 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC grew its position in Mercury General by 1.7% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 10,923 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $611,000 after buying an additional 185 shares in the last quarter. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in Mercury General by 194.2% during the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,209 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $81,000 after buying an additional 798 shares in the last quarter. 42.39% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Mercury General Company Profile

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.