Mercury General (NYSE:MCY) Reaches New 12-Month High at $56.60

Mercury General Co. (NYSE:MCY) hit a new 52-week high during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $56.60 and last traded at $56.23, with a volume of 47935 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $55.33.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, StockNews.com downgraded Mercury General from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 17th.

Mercury General Stock Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $3.06 billion, a PE ratio of 31.71 and a beta of 0.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 0.30 and a quick ratio of 0.30. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $49.98 and a 200 day moving average price of $41.41.

Mercury General (NYSE:MCY) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 13th. The insurance provider reported $1.15 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 return on equity of 1.17% and a net margin of 2.08%. Research analysts anticipate that Mercury General Co. will post 2.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mercury General Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 27th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 13th were paid a $0.317 dividend. This represents a $1.27 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.30%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 12th. Mercury General’s dividend payout ratio is currently 72.99%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Mercury General

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Diversified Trust Co lifted its stake in Mercury General by 4.9% in the 1st quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 7,832 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $404,000 after acquiring an additional 369 shares in the last quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas lifted its stake in Mercury General by 5.9% in the 3rd quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 7,487 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $210,000 after acquiring an additional 416 shares in the last quarter. Swiss National Bank lifted its stake in Mercury General by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 60,900 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,707,000 after acquiring an additional 600 shares in the last quarter. Inspire Investing LLC lifted its stake in Mercury General by 6.6% in the 3rd quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 11,011 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $309,000 after acquiring an additional 681 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Mercury General during the 3rd quarter worth about $25,000. 42.39% of the stock is 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.