Mercury General (NYSE:MCY) Upgraded at Zacks Research

Zacks Research upgraded shares of Mercury General (NYSE:MCY) from a hold rating to a strong-buy rating in a research note published on Thursday,Zacks.com reports.

Other analysts also recently issued reports about the company. Wall Street Zen upgraded Mercury General from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday, February 21st. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Mercury General in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and one has assigned a Buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Strong Buy” and a consensus price target of $100.00.

Mercury General Stock Performance

Mercury General stock opened at $90.49 on Thursday. Mercury General has a fifty-two week low of $47.06 and a fifty-two week high of $100.06. The company has a market capitalization of $5.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.26 and a beta of 0.94. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $90.60 and a two-hundred day moving average of $85.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a quick ratio of 0.42 and a current ratio of 0.42.

Mercury General (NYSE:MCY) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 17th. The insurance provider reported $3.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.56 by $1.10. Mercury General had a return on equity of 20.74% and a net margin of 9.03%.The business had revenue of $1.54 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.37 billion. On average, analysts anticipate that Mercury General will post -0.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mercury General Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 26th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 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 1.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 12th. Mercury General’s payout ratio is 13.00%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Mercury General

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of MCY. Financial Management Professionals Inc. bought a new position in Mercury General in the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Mercury General in the third quarter valued at about $34,000. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Mercury General during the fourth quarter valued at about $38,000. Mcguire Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Mercury General during the fourth quarter worth about $40,000. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp grew its stake in shares of Mercury General by 236.0% in the third quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 457 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 321 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 42.39% of the company’s stock.

Mercury General Company Profile

Mercury General Corporation is a holding company headquartered in Los Angeles, California, that underwrites and markets property and casualty insurance products through its principal subsidiary, Mercury Insurance Company. Established in 1961, the company has built a reputation for offering a broad range of personal and commercial lines, with a focus on automobile coverage. Mercury General operates in key U.S. markets, deploying a mix of independent agents and direct distribution channels to serve policyholders.

The company’s product portfolio includes personal automobile insurance, homeowners and renters policies, as well as commercial automobile, business liability and umbrella insurance.