Mercury General (NYSE:MCY) Hits New 1-Year High – Here’s Why

Mercury General Corporation (NYSE:MCY)’s stock price reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $111.46 and last traded at $111.5260, with a volume of 306546 shares. The stock had previously closed at $110.48.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Mercury General from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 26th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Mercury General from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Saturday. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Mercury General in a research report on Thursday, June 4th. Two equities 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 MarketBeat.com, Mercury General currently has an average rating of “Strong Buy” and a consensus target price of $100.00.

Mercury General Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of $6.17 billion, a PE ratio of 7.35 and a beta of 0.89. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $101.06 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $94.32. The company has a quick ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 0.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22.

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 the consensus estimate of $2.15 by $1.35. Mercury General had a return on equity of 32.94% and a net margin of 13.68%.The business had revenue of $1.54 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.46 billion. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Mercury General Corporation will post 11.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Mercury General Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 25th. Investors of record on Thursday, June 11th were issued a $0.3175 dividend. This represents a $1.27 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, June 11th. Mercury General’s dividend payout ratio is currently 8.37%.

Institutional Trading of Mercury General

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Financial Management Professionals Inc. purchased a new stake in Mercury General during the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in Mercury General in the 4th quarter worth $38,000. Mcguire Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Mercury General in the 4th quarter valued at about $40,000. IFP Advisors Inc boosted its position in Mercury General by 79.4% in the 4th quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 506 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $48,000 after buying an additional 224 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Allworth Financial LP grew its stake in shares of Mercury General by 18.6% during the third quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 753 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $64,000 after acquiring an additional 118 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 42.39% of the company’s stock.

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.