Mercury General (NYSE:MCY) Downgraded by Zacks Research to “Hold”

Zacks Research cut shares of Mercury General (NYSE:MCY) from a strong-buy rating to a hold rating in a research report released on Tuesday morning,Zacks reports.

A number of other brokerages have also recently issued reports on MCY. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Mercury General from a “buy (b)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 4th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Mercury General from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, November 7th. Finally, Raymond James Financial restated a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $100.00 price target on shares of Mercury General in a research report on Monday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Mercury General currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $100.00.

Mercury General Stock Up 2.0%

Shares of NYSE MCY opened at $85.89 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.76 billion, a PE ratio of 7.40 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a current ratio of 0.38, a quick ratio of 0.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. Mercury General has a 1 year low of $81.64 and a 1 year high of $113.06. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $99.95 and its 200-day moving average is $98.56.

Mercury General (NYSE:MCY) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 3rd. The insurance provider reported $3.49 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.43 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $1.38 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.62 billion. Mercury General had a net margin of 10.47% and a return on equity of 29.48%. Equities analysts expect that Mercury General will post 13.32 EPS for the current year.

Mercury General Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 31st. Investors of record on Thursday, December 17th will be given a $0.3175 dividend. This represents a $1.27 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, December 17th. Mercury General’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 10.94%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Joshua Little acquired 750 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 6th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $82.69 per share, for a total transaction of $62,017.50. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 4,000 shares in the company, valued at $330,760. This trade represents a 23.08% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 35.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Mercury General

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in shares of Mercury General during the second quarter worth $479,604,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new stake in shares of Mercury General in the 2nd quarter valued at $26,295,000. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. acquired a new stake in Mercury General during the 2nd quarter worth $13,127,000. Rubric Capital Management LP raised its stake in Mercury General by 4.9% during the 1st quarter. Rubric Capital Management LP now owns 2,154,504 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $189,920,000 after buying an additional 100,000 shares during the period. Finally, Edgestream Partners L.P. acquired a new stake in Mercury General during the 3rd quarter worth $9,593,000. 42.39% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Mercury General Company Profile

Mercury General Corporation is a property and casualty insurance company best known for its personal auto insurance. Through its insurance subsidiaries, the company also offers homeowners, renters, commercial auto, and other insurance products, including umbrella coverage. Founded in 1961, Mercury distributes policies through independent agents and direct-to-consumer channels. California is its primary market, and the company also serves customers in other U.S. states.