Mercury General (NYSE:MCY) Sets New 1-Year High – Still a Buy?

Mercury General Corporation (NYSE:MCY) reached a new 52-week high on Monday . The stock traded as high as $102.98 and last traded at $103.5240, with a volume of 55977 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $98.10.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have issued reports on MCY. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Mercury General in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Zacks Research lowered shares of Mercury General from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Mercury General from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 21st. One research 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.com, Mercury General has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $100.00.

Mercury General Stock Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $5.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.67 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a quick ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 0.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $93.07 and a 200 day moving average price of $91.00.

Mercury General (NYSE:MCY) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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. The firm had revenue of $1.54 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.46 billion. Mercury General had a return on equity of 32.94% and a net margin of 13.68%. On average, analysts forecast that Mercury General Corporation will post 9 EPS for the current year.

Mercury General Dividend Announcement

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Mercury General

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Rubric Capital Management LP boosted its holdings in shares of Mercury General by 4.9% in the first quarter. Rubric Capital Management LP now owns 2,154,504 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $189,920,000 after acquiring an additional 100,000 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of Mercury General by 2.2% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,149,647 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $189,492,000 after purchasing an additional 46,559 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Mercury General by 22.9% during the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 578,671 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $49,060,000 after purchasing an additional 107,766 shares during the period. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Mercury General by 4.4% during the fourth quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 408,116 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $38,387,000 after purchasing an additional 17,306 shares during the period. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Mercury General by 1.9% during the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 346,343 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $22,917,000 after purchasing an additional 6,314 shares during the period. 42.39% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.