Mercury General (NYSE:MCY) Stock Price Down 3.6% – What’s Next?

Mercury General Co. (NYSE:MCY)’s share price fell 3.6% during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $51.00 and last traded at $51.00. 36,124 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 97% from the average session volume of 1,084,673 shares. The stock had previously closed at $52.90.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, StockNews.com lowered shares of Mercury General from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 26th.

Mercury General Stock Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 0.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $69.11 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $64.34. The firm has a market cap of $2.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 4.78 and a beta of 0.87.

Mercury General (NYSE:MCY) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The insurance provider reported $2.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.15 by $1.39. The company had revenue of $1.53 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.37 billion. Mercury General had a return on equity of 18.04% and a net margin of 10.18%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.14 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Mercury General Co. will post 5.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mercury General Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 26th. Investors of record on Thursday, December 12th were issued a $0.317 dividend. This represents a $1.27 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.63%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, December 12th. Mercury General’s payout ratio is presently 12.59%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, VP Heidi C. Sullivan sold 1,076 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.28, for a total value of $83,153.28. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 35.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in Mercury General by 4.7% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,999,235 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $106,237,000 after purchasing an additional 88,954 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Mercury General by 2.5% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 623,460 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $39,273,000 after buying an additional 15,264 shares during the period. Phase 2 Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Mercury General by 142.1% in the third quarter. Phase 2 Partners LLC now owns 273,955 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $17,254,000 after purchasing an additional 160,808 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its stake in shares of Mercury General by 607.5% in the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 214,427 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $13,505,000 after buying an additional 184,121 shares during the period. Finally, Point72 Asset Management L.P. acquired a new position in Mercury General during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $13,068,000. 42.39% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.