Zacks Research Downgrades Mercury General (NYSE:MCY) to Hold

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

Other equities analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Mercury General from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 21st. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Mercury General in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has issued a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $100.00.

Mercury General Trading Down 2.2%

MCY stock traded down $2.17 on Monday, hitting $96.06. 40,748 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 255,925. Mercury General has a twelve month low of $54.00 and a twelve month high of $100.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 0.42 and a quick ratio of 0.42. The business’s fifty day moving average is $90.53 and its two-hundred day moving average is $89.20. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.84 and a beta of 0.91.

Mercury General (NYSE:MCY) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 17th. The insurance provider reported $3.66 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.56 by $1.10. Mercury General had a net margin of 9.03% and a return on equity of 20.74%. The firm had revenue of $1.54 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.37 billion. As a group, research analysts forecast that Mercury General will post 9 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Mercury General

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in MCY. Financial Management Professionals Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Mercury General in the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Mercury General in the third quarter worth $34,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its stake in shares of Mercury General by 236.0% in the third quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 457 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 321 shares during the period. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Mercury General in the fourth quarter valued at $38,000. Finally, Mcguire Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Mercury General in the fourth quarter valued at $40,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.