Mercury General (NYSE:MCY) Upgraded to “Strong-Buy” at Zacks Research

Mercury General (NYSE:MCY) was upgraded by stock analysts at Zacks Research from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday,Zacks.com reports.

MCY has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded Mercury General from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 21st. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Mercury General in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and one has issued a Buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Strong Buy” and an average target price of $100.00.

Mercury General Price Performance

Shares of MCY stock opened at $90.49 on Thursday. Mercury General has a 1 year low of $47.06 and a 1 year high of $100.06. The company has a current ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 0.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $90.60 and its 200-day moving average is $85.58. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.26 and a beta of 0.94.

Mercury General (NYSE:MCY) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 17th. The insurance provider reported $3.66 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.56 by $1.10. Mercury General had a net margin of 9.03% and a return on equity of 20.74%. The business had revenue of $1.54 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.37 billion. Sell-side analysts forecast that Mercury General will post -0.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Mercury General

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MCY. Financial Management Professionals Inc. bought a new position in Mercury General during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Mercury General in the 3rd quarter valued at about $34,000. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Mercury General in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Mcguire Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Mercury General in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its holdings in Mercury General by 236.0% in the third quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 457 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 321 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 42.39% of the company’s stock.

Mercury General Company Profile

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.