Mercury General (NYSE:MCY) Cut to “Buy” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com lowered shares of Mercury General (NYSE:MCY) from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a research note published on Thursday.

Mercury General Price Performance

Shares of MCY opened at $66.98 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 0.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. The firm has a market cap of $3.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.64 and a beta of 0.84. Mercury General has a 52 week low of $36.96 and a 52 week high of $80.72. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $72.08 and a 200-day moving average of $63.64.

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

Mercury General Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 26th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 12th were issued a $0.317 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, December 12th. This represents a $1.27 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.89%. Mercury General’s dividend payout ratio is currently 12.59%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Mercury General

In related news, VP Heidi C. Sullivan sold 1,076 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.28, for a total value of $83,153.28. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 35.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System grew its stake in shares of Mercury General by 1.5% in the second quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 13,400 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $712,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its holdings in Mercury General by 2.6% in the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 15,660 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $832,000 after purchasing an additional 396 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC grew its position in Mercury General by 4.6% in the 3rd quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 10,287 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $648,000 after buying an additional 454 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its stake in Mercury General by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 47,882 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $3,016,000 after buying an additional 481 shares during the period. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. raised its position in shares of Mercury General by 72.0% during the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,151 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $72,000 after buying an additional 482 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 42.39% of the company’s stock.

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.