Mercury General (NYSE:MCY) Upgraded by StockNews.com to “Buy” Rating

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Mercury General (NYSE:MCY) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report issued on Monday morning.

Separately, Raymond James upgraded Mercury General from an “outperform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $70.00 to $80.00 in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th.

Mercury General Trading Down 0.3%

NYSE:MCY opened at $61.84 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $3.43 billion, a PE ratio of 7.32 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a quick ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 0.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. Mercury General has a 52-week low of $44.19 and a 52-week high of $80.72. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $55.30 and a 200-day simple moving average of $60.25.

Mercury General (NYSE:MCY) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The insurance provider reported ($2.29) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($4.00) by $1.71. The business had revenue of $1.31 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.36 billion. Mercury General had a return on equity of 22.54% and a net margin of 8.55%. On average, equities research analysts expect that Mercury General will post -0.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mercury General Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 26th. Investors of record on Thursday, June 12th will be given a dividend of $0.3175 per share. This represents a $1.27 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.05%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, June 12th. Mercury General’s dividend payout ratio is presently 24.61%.

Institutional Trading of Mercury General

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its position in Mercury General by 145.1% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 554 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 328 shares in the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in Mercury General in the 4th quarter valued at about $44,000. Sterling Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Mercury General by 772.9% in the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 742 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $49,000 after buying an additional 657 shares during the period. Meeder Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Mercury General in the 1st quarter valued at about $50,000. Finally, Millstone Evans Group LLC purchased a new stake in Mercury General in the 4th quarter valued at about $60,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 42.39% of the company’s stock.

Mercury General Company Profile

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.