Mercury General (NYSE:MCY) Stock Rating Cut to Hold at Zacks Research

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

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

Mercury General Stock Up 2.0%

MCY stock opened at $85.89 on Tuesday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $99.95 and its 200 day simple moving average is $98.56. Mercury General has a 1-year low of $81.64 and a 1-year high of $113.06. 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 (NYSE:MCY) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 3rd. The insurance provider reported $3.49 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.43 by $0.06. Mercury General had a net margin of 10.47% and a return on equity of 29.48%. The firm had revenue of $1.38 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.62 billion. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Mercury General will post 13.32 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Mercury General

In other news, Director Joshua Little acquired 750 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 6th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $82.69 per share, with a total value of $62,017.50. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 4,000 shares in the company, valued at $330,760. This represents a 23.08% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 35.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Mercury General

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al bought a new position in Mercury General during the second quarter worth about $1,733,000. Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new stake in Mercury General in the 2nd quarter worth about $7,424,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company bought a new stake in Mercury General in the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,634,000. CX Institutional bought a new stake in Mercury General in the 3rd quarter valued at about $4,827,000. Finally, Philadelphia Financial Management of San Francisco LLC bought a new stake in Mercury General in the 2nd quarter valued at about $6,738,384. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 42.39% of the company’s stock.

About Mercury General

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.