Mercury General (NYSE:MCY) Reaches New 12-Month High – Here’s Why

Mercury General Co. (NYSE:MCY) hit a new 52-week high on Thursday . The company traded as high as $76.51 and last traded at $76.46, with a volume of 266381 shares. The stock had previously closed at $73.73.

Mercury General Stock Performance

The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $67.27 and a 200-day simple moving average of $60.76. The stock has a market cap of $4.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.66 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a current ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 0.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31.

Mercury General (NYSE:MCY) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The insurance provider reported $2.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.15 by $1.39. Mercury General had a return on equity of 18.04% and a net margin of 10.18%. The business had revenue of $1.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.37 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.14 EPS. Analysts forecast that Mercury General Co. will post 6.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mercury General Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 26th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, December 12th will be given a $0.317 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, December 12th. This represents a $1.27 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.64%. Mercury General’s payout ratio is 12.59%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MCY. Sei Investments Co. boosted its stake in shares of Mercury General by 132.7% in the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 17,561 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $906,000 after purchasing an additional 10,014 shares in the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its position in shares of Mercury General by 7,606.6% in the 1st quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 53,330 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $2,752,000 after buying an additional 52,638 shares during the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Mercury General in the 1st quarter worth approximately $279,000. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System boosted its position in Mercury General by 19.2% during the first quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 9,124 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $471,000 after acquiring an additional 1,470 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Blair William & Co. IL acquired a new stake in Mercury General during the first quarter worth approximately $200,000. 42.39% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Mercury General

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.