Mercury General (NYSE:MCY) Raised to Strong-Buy at Zacks Research

Mercury General (NYSE:MCY) was upgraded by equities researchers at Zacks Research from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other research analysts have also recently weighed in on MCY. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Mercury General from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday, July 4th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Mercury General in a research report on Thursday, June 4th. Two 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, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Strong Buy” and an average price target of $100.00.

Mercury General Price Performance

MCY stock opened at $104.55 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $106.38 and a 200-day moving average of $98.11. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.18 and a beta of 0.90. Mercury General has a 12 month low of $73.73 and a 12 month high of $113.06. The company has a current ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 0.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33.

Mercury General (NYSE:MCY) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The insurance provider reported $3.52 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.53 by $0.99. Mercury General had a net margin of 14.77% and a return on equity of 31.98%. The business had revenue of $1.68 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.52 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Mercury General will post 12.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Mercury General

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Allworth Financial LP bought a new stake in shares of Mercury General during the 2nd quarter valued at $35,000. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Mercury General during the 4th quarter valued at $38,000. PenderFund Capital Management Ltd. bought a new stake in Mercury General in the 2nd quarter worth about $44,000. Mcguire Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Mercury General in the fourth quarter worth approximately $40,000. Finally, Caitlin John LLC purchased a new position in shares of Mercury General during the second quarter valued at approximately $53,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.