Zacks Investment Research upgraded shares of Mercury General Corporation (NYSE:MCY) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a report released on Wednesday. The firm currently has $68.00 target price on the insurance provider’s stock.
According to Zacks, “Mercury General Corp. is engaged primarily in writing all risk classifications of automobile insurance in a number of states, principally California. The company offers automobile policyholders the following types of coverage: bodily injury liability, underinsured and uninsured motorist, property damage liability, comprehensive, collision and other hazards specified in the policy. “
Separately, BidaskClub downgraded Mercury General Corporation from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 12th.
Mercury General Corporation (NYSE MCY) opened at 59.42 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $54.85 and a 200 day moving average price of $57.56. Mercury General Corporation has a 52-week low of $50.32 and a 52-week high of $64.52. The stock has a market cap of $3.29 billion, a PE ratio of 41.55 and a beta of 0.50.
Mercury General Corporation (NYSE:MCY) last announced its earnings results on Monday, July 31st. The insurance provider reported $0.68 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.50 by $0.18. The firm had revenue of $852.80 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $815.85 million. Mercury General Corporation had a return on equity of 6.66% and a net margin of 2.45%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down .6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.88 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Mercury General Corporation will post $1.93 earnings per share for the current year.
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The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 28th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, September 14th will be paid a $0.6225 dividend. This represents a $2.49 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.19%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, September 13th. Mercury General Corporation’s dividend payout ratio is presently 172.92%.
In other news, VP Randall R. Petro sold 1,672 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.52, for a total value of $92,829.44. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 34.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.
Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Tyers Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Mercury General Corporation by 6.3% in the first quarter. Tyers Asset Management LLC now owns 1,904 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $116,000 after buying an additional 112 shares in the last quarter. Flinton Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Mercury General Corporation by 6.3% in the first quarter. Flinton Capital Management LLC now owns 2,312 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $141,000 after buying an additional 136 shares in the last quarter. LS Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in Mercury General Corporation by 17.5% in the second quarter. LS Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,922 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $158,000 after buying an additional 435 shares in the last quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue increased its stake in Mercury General Corporation by 7.6% in the first quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 3,120 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $190,000 after buying an additional 220 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Mercury General Corporation by 21.8% in the first quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 3,216 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $196,000 after buying an additional 575 shares in the last quarter. 46.30% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.
Mercury General Corporation Company Profile
Mercury General Corporation is an insurance holding company. As of December 31, 2016, the Company and its subsidiaries were engaged in writing personal automobile insurance through 14 insurance subsidiaries in 11 states, principally California. Its segments include Property and Casualty Lines, and Other Lines.
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