Mercury General (NYSE:MCY) Posts Earnings Results

Mercury General (NYSE:MCY) announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday. The insurance provider reported $3.50 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.15 by $1.35, FiscalAI reports. Mercury General had a net margin of 13.68% and a return on equity of 34.37%. The business had revenue of $1.54 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.46 billion.

Mercury General Stock Performance

MCY traded up $2.00 during trading on Thursday, hitting $98.02. The stock had a trading volume of 286,291 shares, compared to its average volume of 257,293. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a quick ratio of 0.42 and a current ratio of 0.42. Mercury General has a twelve month low of $56.63 and a twelve month high of $100.69. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.46 and a beta of 0.92. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $91.37 and its 200 day moving average price is $89.67.

Mercury General Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 25th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, June 11th will be paid a $0.3175 dividend. This represents a $1.27 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, June 11th. Mercury General’s payout ratio is currently 13.00%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Mercury General

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Mcguire Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Mercury General during the 4th quarter worth $40,000. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV grew its stake in shares of Mercury General by 3.3% during the 4th quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 5,473 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $515,000 after purchasing an additional 173 shares during the period. Summit Global Investments purchased a new stake in shares of Mercury General in the 4th quarter worth about $1,206,000. Caitlin John LLC boosted its position in shares of Mercury General by 560.1% in the 4th quarter. Caitlin John LLC now owns 3,195 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $301,000 after buying an additional 2,711 shares in the last quarter. Finally, XTX Topco Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Mercury General in the 4th quarter worth about $206,000. 42.39% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MCY has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Mercury General from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 21st. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Mercury General in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, Zacks Research cut shares of Mercury General from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, April 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has given a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target 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.