Mercury General (NYSE:MCY) Shares Break Below 200 Day Moving Average – Here’s Why

Mercury General Corporation (NYSE:MCY)’s share price crossed below its two hundred day moving average during trading on Wednesday. The stock has a two hundred day moving average of $98.67 and traded as low as $87.51. Mercury General shares last traded at $88.7340, with a volume of 851,300 shares traded.

Key Mercury General News

Here are the key news stories impacting Mercury General this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Third-quarter operating income was $3.49 per diluted share, above analyst estimates, while net premiums earned rose 9.6% year over year. Catastrophe losses were also lower than a year earlier. However, operating income per share declined from $3.86. Mercury General Q3 results
• Neutral Sentiment: Mercury declared a quarterly dividend of $0.3175 per share, or $1.27 annualized. The dividend supports income for shareholders but is unlikely to offset concerns about the quarter’s loss. Quarterly dividend announcement
• Neutral Sentiment: One valuation analysis suggested MCY could be undervalued by 37%, offering a potential counterpoint to the earnings concerns; that estimate is an analyst valuation view, not a company forecast. Mercury General valuation analysis
• Negative Sentiment: The company posted a $13.7 million GAAP net loss, largely reflecting $206.9 million in after-tax realized investment losses, versus a substantial gain a year earlier. Revenue of $1.38 billion also fell short of the cited $1.62 billion analyst expectation, likely weighing on the stock despite the operating-EPS beat. Mercury General Q3 loss report

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Mercury General in a research note on Tuesday, September 1st. Zacks Research raised Mercury General from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and one has given a Buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Strong Buy”.

Mercury General Price Performance

The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $101.81 and its 200 day simple moving average is $98.67. The company has a market cap of $4.91 billion, a PE ratio of 7.64 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 0.47 and a current ratio of 0.47.

Mercury General (NYSE:MCY) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 3rd. The insurance provider reported $3.49 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.43 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $1.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.62 billion. Mercury General had a return on equity of 30.02% and a net margin of 10.47%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Mercury General Corporation will post 13.25 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mercury General Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 17th will be given a $0.3175 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, December 17th. This represents a $1.27 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.4%. Mercury General’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 10.94%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Mercury General

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in MCY. Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new stake in Mercury General in the second quarter valued at approximately $7,424,000. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al purchased a new position in Mercury General in the second quarter worth approximately $1,733,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company purchased a new position in Mercury General in the second quarter worth approximately $1,634,000. CX Institutional acquired a new position in Mercury General during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $4,827,000. Finally, Philadelphia Financial Management of San Francisco LLC acquired a new position in Mercury General during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $6,738,384. 42.39% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Mercury General

Mercury General Corporation (NYSE:MCY) is an insurance holding company that writes personal and commercial property and casualty insurance through its subsidiaries. The company is best known for automobile insurance, offering coverage such as liability, collision, comprehensive and uninsured or underinsured motorist protection.

Its product portfolio also includes homeowners, renters, condominium, mobile-home and umbrella insurance, as well as commercial automobile coverage and other related property and casualty products.