Mercury General (NYSE:MCY) Upgraded at Zacks Research

Mercury General (NYSE:MCY) was upgraded by equities researchers at Zacks Research from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note issued on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

Separately, Wall Street Zen downgraded Mercury General from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 23rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and one has given a Buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Mercury General presently has an average rating of “Strong Buy” and an average target price of $100.00.

Mercury General Price Performance

NYSE:MCY opened at $99.56 on Tuesday. Mercury General has a 1-year low of $60.41 and a 1-year high of $103.86. The company has a current ratio of 0.44, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $94.56 and a 200 day simple moving average of $91.94. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.51 billion, a PE ratio of 6.56 and a beta of 0.92.

Mercury General (NYSE:MCY) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The insurance provider reported $3.50 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.15 by $1.35. Mercury General had a return on equity of 32.94% and a net margin of 13.68%.The business had revenue of $1.54 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.46 billion. On average, research analysts expect that Mercury General will post 11.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Mercury General

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of MCY. Park West Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Mercury General during the 3rd quarter valued at about $23,953,000. Rubric Capital Management LP boosted its position in shares of Mercury General by 12.8% during the 2nd quarter. Rubric Capital Management LP now owns 2,054,504 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $138,350,000 after acquiring an additional 232,721 shares during the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. boosted its position in shares of Mercury General by 2,513.7% during the 2nd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 157,893 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $10,633,000 after acquiring an additional 151,852 shares during the last quarter. Philosophy Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Mercury General during the 3rd quarter valued at about $11,778,000. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. boosted its position in shares of Mercury General by 22.9% during the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 578,671 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $49,060,000 after acquiring an additional 107,766 shares during the last quarter. 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.