Mercury General (NYSE:MCY) Reaches New 1-Year High – Should You Buy?

Mercury General Corporation (NYSE:MCY)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high on Monday . The stock traded as high as $108.10 and last traded at $107.9750, with a volume of 46829 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $107.47.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MCY has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Mercury General in a research note on Thursday, June 4th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Mercury General from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, June 13th. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of Mercury General from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 26th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and one has assigned a Buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Strong Buy” and a consensus price target of $100.00.

Mercury General Stock Down 1.0%

The stock has a fifty day moving average of $99.74 and a 200 day moving average of $93.73. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.01 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 0.44 and a quick ratio of 0.44.

Mercury General (NYSE:MCY) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 5th. The insurance provider reported $3.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.15 by $1.35. The firm had revenue of $1.54 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.46 billion. Mercury General had a return on equity of 32.94% and a net margin of 13.68%. On average, research analysts anticipate that Mercury General Corporation will post 11.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mercury General Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 25th. Investors of record on Thursday, June 11th were paid a $0.3175 dividend. This represents a $1.27 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, June 11th. Mercury General’s payout ratio is currently 8.37%.

Institutional Trading of Mercury General

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Park West Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Mercury General in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $23,953,000. Rubric Capital Management LP lifted its position in shares of Mercury General by 12.8% during the second quarter. Rubric Capital Management LP now owns 2,054,504 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $138,350,000 after acquiring an additional 232,721 shares in the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. boosted its holdings in shares of Mercury General by 2,513.7% in the second quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 157,893 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $10,633,000 after acquiring an additional 151,852 shares during the period. Philosophy Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Mercury General in the third quarter worth $11,778,000. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. grew its position in shares of Mercury General by 22.9% in the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 578,671 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $49,060,000 after purchasing an additional 107,766 shares in the last quarter. 42.39% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.