Mercury General (NYSE:MCY) Upgraded at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Mercury General (NYSE:MCY) from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating in a research report sent to investors on Saturday morning.

Several other analysts have also commented on MCY. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Mercury General in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Zacks Research cut Mercury General from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has issued a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $100.00.

Mercury General Trading Down 3.1%

Shares of MCY stock opened at $83.73 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 0.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. Mercury General has a twelve month low of $47.06 and a twelve month high of $100.06. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $90.97 and its 200-day moving average price is $85.29. The stock has a market cap of $4.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.57 and a beta of 0.94.

Mercury General (NYSE:MCY) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 17th. The insurance provider reported $3.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.56 by $1.10. The firm had revenue of $1.54 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.37 billion. Mercury General had a net margin of 9.03% and a return on equity of 20.74%. As a group, equities analysts predict that Mercury General will post -0.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Mercury General Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 26th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 12th will be given a dividend of $0.3175 per share. This represents a $1.27 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 12th. Mercury General’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 13.00%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Mercury General

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Mcguire Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Mercury General during the 4th quarter valued at about $40,000. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV lifted its position in shares of Mercury General by 3.3% during the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Summit Global Investments purchased a new position in shares of Mercury General in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,206,000. Caitlin John LLC grew its holdings in shares of Mercury General by 560.1% in the fourth quarter. Caitlin John LLC now owns 3,195 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $301,000 after purchasing an additional 2,711 shares in the last quarter. Finally, XTX Topco Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Mercury General in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $206,000. 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.