Mercury General Corporation (NYSE:MCY) to Issue $0.32 Quarterly Dividend

Mercury General Corporation (NYSE:MCY) announced a quarterly dividend on Tuesday, August 4th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, September 10th will be paid a dividend of 0.3175 per share by the insurance provider on Thursday, September 24th. This represents a c) dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 10th.

Mercury General has decreased its dividend payment by an average of 0.1%annually over the last three years. Mercury General has a payout ratio of 19.0% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities analysts expect Mercury General to earn $10.75 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 11.8%.

Mercury General Stock Performance

Shares of Mercury General stock opened at $109.15 on Wednesday. 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 1 year low of $69.82 and a 1 year high of $113.06. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $104.81 and its 200-day simple moving average is $96.69. The firm has a market cap of $6.05 billion, a PE ratio of 7.20 and a beta of 0.90.

Mercury General (NYSE:MCY) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The insurance provider reported $3.52 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.53 by $0.99. The business had revenue of $1.68 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.52 billion. Mercury General had a return on equity of 32.94% and a net margin of 13.68%. Equities analysts forecast that Mercury General will post 11.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MCY has been the subject of several research reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded Mercury General from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, July 4th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Mercury General in a research report on Thursday, June 4th. Finally, Zacks Research cut Mercury General from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, July 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has issued a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $100.00.

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.