Park West Asset Management LLC Acquires New Stake in Mercury General Corporation $MCY

Park West Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Mercury General Corporation (NYSE:MCY) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 55,865 shares of the insurance provider’s stock, valued at approximately $5,956,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in MCY. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in Mercury General by 40.5% during the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 178,064 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $15,696,000 after acquiring an additional 51,336 shares in the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in Mercury General during the second quarter valued at approximately $479,604,000. Legato Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Mercury General during the 4th quarter valued at $538,000. Ieq Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Mercury General in the second quarter valued at $5,429,000. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP raised its position in Mercury General by 32.2% in the 1st quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 62,181 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $5,481,000 after purchasing an additional 15,139 shares during the period. 42.39% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently weighed in on MCY shares. Zacks Research upgraded Mercury General from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 18th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Mercury General in a research report on Thursday, June 4th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Mercury General from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, July 4th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and one has assigned a Buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Mercury General currently has a consensus rating of “Strong Buy” and a consensus target price of $100.00.

Mercury General Trading Up 0.2%

Shares of Mercury General stock opened at $104.69 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $5.80 billion, a PE ratio of 6.19 and a beta of 0.90. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $106.79 and a 200 day moving average price of $98.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 0.47 and a quick ratio of 0.47. Mercury General Corporation has a 1 year low of $74.29 and a 1 year high of $113.06.

Mercury General (NYSE:MCY) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The insurance provider reported $3.52 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.53 by $0.99. Mercury General had a return on equity of 31.98% and a net margin of 14.77%.The firm had revenue of $1.68 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.52 billion. Equities research analysts predict that Mercury General Corporation will post 12.75 earnings per share for the current year.

Mercury General Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 24th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, September 10th will be given a $0.3175 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 10th. This represents a $1.27 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.2%. Mercury General’s dividend payout ratio is 7.51%.

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.