Inspire Investing LLC Raises Holdings in Mercury General Corporation $MCY

Inspire Investing LLC boosted its stake in shares of Mercury General Corporation (NYSE:MCY) by 223.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 18,820 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 13,004 shares during the quarter. Inspire Investing LLC’s holdings in Mercury General were worth $1,596,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of MCY. Brighton Jones LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Mercury General during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $253,000. Voya Investment Management LLC grew its position in Mercury General by 38.8% during the third quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC now owns 10,135 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $859,000 after buying an additional 2,834 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. acquired a new stake in Mercury General during the third quarter valued at $3,141,000. Corient Private Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Mercury General in the second quarter valued at $259,000. Finally, Westwood Holdings Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Mercury General by 14.0% in the second quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. now owns 560,670 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $37,756,000 after acquiring an additional 68,983 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 42.39% of the company’s stock.

Mercury General Trading Down 0.3%

MCY opened at $94.66 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.94 and a beta of 0.97. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $87.37 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $78.25. Mercury General Corporation has a 1-year low of $44.19 and a 1-year high of $96.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 0.45 and a quick ratio of 0.45.

Mercury General (NYSE:MCY) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 4th. The insurance provider reported $3.86 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.15 by $1.71. The firm had revenue of $1.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.49 billion. Mercury General had a return on equity of 19.53% and a net margin of 7.55%. Analysts expect that Mercury General Corporation will post -0.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mercury General Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 24th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 10th were given a dividend of $0.3175 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, December 10th. This represents a $1.27 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.3%. Mercury General’s payout ratio is presently 16.02%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently weighed in on MCY. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Mercury General in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Zacks Research upgraded Mercury General from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 11th. Finally, Raymond James Financial restated a “strong-buy” rating and set a $100.00 price objective (up from $90.00) on shares of Mercury General in a research report on Monday, September 22nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and one has given a Buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Strong Buy” and an average target price of $100.00.

Mercury General 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.