Philadelphia Financial Management of San Francisco LLC Purchases New Position in Mercury General Corporation $MCY

Philadelphia Financial Management of San Francisco LLC acquired a new stake in Mercury General Corporation (NYSE:MCY) in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor acquired 63,200 shares of the insurance provider’s stock, valued at approximately $6,738,384,000. Mercury General accounts for about 1.4% of Philadelphia Financial Management of San Francisco LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 28th largest holding.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in MCY. Allworth Financial LP bought a new stake in shares of Mercury General during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $35,000. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Mercury General in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Mcguire Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Mercury General during the 4th quarter valued at $40,000. IFP Advisors Inc lifted its stake in Mercury General by 79.4% in the fourth quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 506 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $48,000 after acquiring an additional 224 shares during the period. Finally, State of Wyoming bought a new position in shares of Mercury General during the second quarter valued at approximately $78,000. Institutional investors own 42.39% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Mercury General Trading Up 0.2%

Shares of MCY stock opened at $104.69 on Thursday. Mercury General Corporation has a 1-year low of $74.29 and a 1-year high of $113.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 0.47 and a quick ratio of 0.47. The company has a 50-day moving average of $106.79 and a two-hundred day moving average of $98.63. The firm has a market cap of $5.80 billion, a PE ratio of 6.19 and a beta of 0.90.

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

Mercury General Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 24th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, September 10th will be given a dividend of $0.3175 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 10th. This represents a $1.27 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.2%. Mercury General’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.