Rubric Capital Management LP Purchases 100,000 Shares of Mercury General Corporation $MCY

Rubric Capital Management LP lifted its position in Mercury General Corporation (NYSE:MCY) by 4.9% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,154,504 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 100,000 shares during the quarter. Mercury General accounts for 2.0% of Rubric Capital Management LP’s portfolio, making the stock its 11th largest position. Rubric Capital Management LP’s holdings in Mercury General were worth $189,920,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of MCY. Financial Management Professionals Inc. acquired a new stake in Mercury General during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Mercury General in the 4th quarter valued at $38,000. Mcguire Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Mercury General during the 4th quarter worth about $40,000. IFP Advisors Inc lifted its holdings in shares of Mercury General by 79.4% during the 4th quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 506 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $48,000 after acquiring an additional 224 shares during the period. Finally, Allworth Financial LP lifted its holdings in shares of Mercury General by 18.6% during the 3rd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 753 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $64,000 after acquiring an additional 118 shares during the period. 42.39% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently 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 note on Saturday, July 4th. Zacks Research cut shares of Mercury General from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, July 17th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Mercury General in a report on Thursday, June 4th. 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Mercury General has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $100.00.

Mercury General Stock Performance

Mercury General stock opened at $108.40 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 0.44 and a quick ratio of 0.44. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $104.10 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $95.94. Mercury General Corporation has a 52-week low of $66.57 and a 52-week high of $113.06. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.15 and a beta of 0.89.

Mercury General (NYSE:MCY) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 5th. The insurance provider reported $3.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.15 by $1.35. Mercury General had a return on equity of 32.94% and a net margin of 13.68%.The company had revenue of $1.54 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.46 billion. As a group, analysts anticipate that Mercury General Corporation will post 11.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mercury General Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 25th. Investors of record on Thursday, June 11th were issued a dividend of $0.3175 per share. This represents a $1.27 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, June 11th. Mercury General’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 8.37%.

About Mercury General

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.