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

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Mercury General Stock Down 2.8 %

The firm’s 50 day moving average is $49.98 and its two-hundred day moving average is $41.41. The stock has a market cap of $3.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.71 and a beta of 0.80. The company has a current ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42.

Mercury General (NYSE:MCY) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 13th. The insurance provider reported $1.15 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.05 by $1.10. Mercury General had a net margin of 2.08% and a return on equity of 1.17%. The firm had revenue of $1.21 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.16 billion. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Mercury General Co. will post 2.9 EPS for the current year.

Mercury General Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced 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 of this dividend was Tuesday, March 12th. Mercury General’s payout ratio is 72.99%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Larson Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in Mercury General in the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. Gradient Investments LLC purchased a new stake in Mercury General in the 3rd quarter valued at about $38,000. Global Retirement Partners LLC grew its holdings in Mercury General by 5,212.5% in the 4th quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 1,700 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $67,000 after buying an additional 1,668 shares during the period. Counterpoint Mutual Funds LLC purchased a new stake in Mercury General in the 3rd quarter valued at about $86,000. Finally, Los Angeles Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Mercury General in the 1st quarter valued at about $259,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 42.39% of the company’s stock.

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.