Islay Capital Management LLC Invests $1.06 Million in Mercury General Corporation $MCY

Islay Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Mercury General Corporation (NYSE:MCY) in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 15,705 shares of the insurance provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,058,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of MCY. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in Mercury General by 2.4% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,105,976 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $117,723,000 after acquiring an additional 49,155 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Mercury General by 1.9% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 666,783 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $44,907,000 after purchasing an additional 12,728 shares in the last quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. bought a new stake in Mercury General in the first quarter valued at about $27,485,000. American Century Companies Inc. raised its stake in Mercury General by 32.9% during the first quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 405,464 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $22,665,000 after buying an additional 100,472 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Mercury General by 57.0% during the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 340,029 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $19,008,000 after buying an additional 123,440 shares during the last quarter. 42.39% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Mercury General Stock Performance

MCY stock opened at $87.27 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $80.97 and a 200 day simple moving average of $71.75. The stock has a market cap of $4.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.40 and a beta of 0.97. Mercury General Corporation has a 52 week low of $44.19 and a 52 week high of $88.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a current ratio of 0.43.

Mercury General (NYSE:MCY) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 4th. The insurance provider reported $3.86 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.15 by $1.71. The firm had revenue of $1.58 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.49 billion. Mercury General had a return on equity of 16.61% and a net margin of 6.76%. Research analysts anticipate that Mercury General Corporation will post -0.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mercury General Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 24th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.3175 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, December 10th. This represents a $1.27 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.5%. Mercury General’s dividend payout ratio is currently 16.02%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have weighed in on MCY. Raymond James Financial reissued a “strong-buy” rating and set a $100.00 target price (up previously from $90.00) on shares of Mercury General in a research note on Monday, September 22nd. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Mercury General from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Mercury General in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Mercury General from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 2nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and one has issued a Buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Strong Buy” and an average price target of $100.00.

Mercury General Company Profile

Mercury General Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, engages in writing personal automobile insurance in the United States. The company also writes homeowners, commercial automobile, commercial property, mechanical protection, and umbrella insurance products. Its automobile insurance products include collision, property damage, bodily injury, comprehensive, personal injury protection, underinsured and uninsured motorist, and other hazards; and homeowners insurance products comprise dwelling, liability, personal property, and other coverages.