Mercury General (NYSE:MCY) Reaches New 52-Week High – What’s Next?

Mercury General Corporation (NYSE:MCY)’s stock price reached a new 52-week high on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $100.95 and last traded at $99.00, with a volume of 236760 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $99.67.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on MCY shares. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Mercury General from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 21st. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Mercury General in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, Zacks Research cut shares of Mercury General from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, April 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has issued a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Mercury General has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $100.00.

Mercury General Trading Down 0.7%

The stock has a market cap of $5.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.53 and a beta of 0.92. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $92.03 and its two-hundred day moving average is $90.08. The company has a quick ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 0.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22.

Mercury General (NYSE:MCY) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 5th. The insurance provider reported $3.50 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.15 by $1.35. The firm had revenue of $1.54 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.46 billion. Mercury General had a net margin of 13.68% and a return on equity of 32.94%. Equities analysts anticipate that Mercury General Corporation will post 9 EPS for the current year.

Mercury General Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 25th. Investors of record on Thursday, June 11th will be paid a dividend of $0.3175 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, June 11th. This represents a $1.27 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.3%. Mercury General’s dividend payout ratio is 8.37%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Mercury General

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Financial Management Professionals Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Mercury General in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Mercury General in the third quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased 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 valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 321 shares during the period. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Mercury General in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Finally, Mcguire Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Mercury General in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.