Mercury General (NYSE:MCY) Announces Quarterly Earnings Results

Mercury General (NYSE:MCY) announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday. The insurance provider reported $3.66 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.56 by $1.10, FiscalAI reports. The company had revenue of $1.54 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.37 billion. Mercury General had a net margin of 9.03% and a return on equity of 21.80%.

Mercury General Price Performance

NYSE:MCY opened at $87.55 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 0.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $91.40 and its 200 day moving average price is $84.89. Mercury General has a 52-week low of $47.06 and a 52-week high of $100.06. The firm has a market cap of $4.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.96 and a beta of 0.94.

Mercury General Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 26th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 12th will be issued a dividend of $0.3175 per share. This represents a $1.27 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 12th. Mercury General’s payout ratio is presently 16.02%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Mercury General

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. VARCOV Co. purchased a new stake in shares of Mercury General during the fourth quarter valued at $299,000. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new stake in Mercury General during the 4th quarter worth about $222,000. Vise Technologies Inc. purchased a new stake in Mercury General during the fourth quarter valued at about $262,000. CIBC Bancorp USA Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Mercury General in the third quarter worth about $243,000. Finally, Focus Partners Wealth purchased a new position in shares of Mercury General in the third quarter worth approximately $286,000. 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.