Mercury General (NYSE:MCY) Announces Earnings Results

Mercury General (NYSE:MCY) issued its earnings results on Tuesday. The insurance provider reported $3.86 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.15 by $1.71, Zacks reports. Mercury General had a return on equity of 16.61% and a net margin of 6.76%.

Mercury General Stock Up 4.8%

Shares of NYSE:MCY traded up $3.66 on Tuesday, reaching $79.89. The company had a trading volume of 346,207 shares, compared to its average volume of 440,773. Mercury General has a 52-week low of $44.19 and a 52-week high of $87.67. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $79.87 and its 200-day simple moving average is $70.28. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.43 billion, a PE ratio of 11.35 and a beta of 0.98. The company has a current ratio of 0.43, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on MCY shares. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Mercury General in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Wall Street Zen raised Mercury General from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 2nd. Zacks Research lowered Mercury General from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, October 3rd. Finally, Raymond James Financial reaffirmed a “strong-buy” rating and set a $100.00 target price (up from $90.00) on shares of Mercury General in a research report on Monday, September 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has given a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $100.00.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Public Sector Pension Investment Board increased its holdings in shares of Mercury General by 7.4% in the 2nd quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 90,522 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $6,096,000 after acquiring an additional 6,223 shares during the period. State of Tennessee Department of Treasury grew its stake in Mercury General by 109.7% during the 2nd quarter. State of Tennessee Department of Treasury now owns 13,753 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $926,000 after buying an additional 7,196 shares during the last quarter. Rubric Capital Management LP grew its stake in Mercury General by 12.8% during the 2nd quarter. Rubric Capital Management LP now owns 2,054,504 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $138,350,000 after buying an additional 232,721 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its stake in Mercury General by 55.7% during the 2nd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 85,566 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $5,762,000 after buying an additional 30,621 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Brevan Howard Capital Management LP purchased a new position in Mercury General during the 2nd quarter worth $208,000. 42.39% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.