Mercury General (NYSE:MCY) Upgraded by StockNews.com to Strong-Buy

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Mercury General (NYSE:MCY) from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating in a research note released on Saturday morning.

Mercury General Stock Down 1.4 %

Shares of MCY stock traded down $0.76 during trading on Friday, reaching $54.70. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 304,665 shares, compared to its average volume of 285,655. Mercury General has a 1-year low of $27.27 and a 1-year high of $57.12. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $50.78 and its 200 day moving average price is $42.69. The company has a market capitalization of $3.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.06 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 0.30 and a quick ratio of 0.30.

Mercury General (NYSE:MCY) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 13th. The insurance provider reported $1.15 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.05 by $1.10. The business had revenue of $1.21 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.16 billion. Mercury General had a net margin of 4.48% and a return on equity of 9.85%. On average, research analysts anticipate that Mercury General will post 2.9 EPS for the current year.

Mercury General Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 27th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, June 13th will be paid a $0.3175 dividend. This represents a $1.27 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.32%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, June 13th. This is a boost from Mercury General’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. Mercury General’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 32.65%.

Institutional Trading of Mercury General

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Larson Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in Mercury General during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Gradient Investments LLC purchased a new position in Mercury General in the third quarter valued at $38,000. Global Retirement Partners LLC increased its holdings in Mercury General by 5,212.5% in the fourth quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 1,700 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $67,000 after buying an additional 1,668 shares during the last quarter. Cornerstone Investment Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Mercury General in the first quarter valued at $205,000. Finally, Teacher Retirement System of Texas lifted its holdings in Mercury General by 5.9% during the 3rd quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 7,487 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $210,000 after buying an additional 416 shares during the last quarter. 42.39% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Mercury General

Mercury General Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, engages in writing personal automobile insurance in the United States. The company also writes homeowners, commercial automobile, commercial property, mechanical protection, and umbrella insurance products. Its automobile insurance products include collision, property damage, bodily injury, comprehensive, personal injury protection, underinsured and uninsured motorist, and other hazards; and homeowners insurance products comprise dwelling, liability, personal property, and other coverages.