Mercury General (NYSE:MCY) Stock Price Passes Above 200 Day Moving Average – Time to Sell?

Mercury General Corporation (NYSE:MCY)’s share price passed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Monday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of $100.11 and traded as high as $101.39. Mercury General shares last traded at $100.13, with a volume of 196,018 shares.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MCY has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded Mercury General from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, July 4th. Zacks Research raised shares of Mercury General from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 18th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Mercury General in a report on Tuesday, September 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and one has issued a Buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Mercury General presently has a consensus rating of “Strong Buy”.

Mercury General Stock Performance

The firm has a 50 day moving average of $104.73 and a 200-day moving average of $100.15. The company has a market cap of $5.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 5.78 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a quick ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 0.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33.

Mercury General (NYSE:MCY) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The insurance provider reported $3.52 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.53 by $0.99. Mercury General had a return on equity of 31.98% and a net margin of 14.77%.The business had revenue of $1.68 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.52 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Mercury General Corporation will post 12.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mercury General Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 24th. Investors of record on Thursday, September 10th will be paid a $0.3175 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 10th. This represents a $1.27 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.3%. Mercury General’s dividend payout ratio is 7.51%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Mercury General

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Mercury General in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $479,604,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new position in Mercury General during the second quarter valued at approximately $26,295,000. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. purchased a new position in Mercury General during the second quarter valued at approximately $13,127,000. Rubric Capital Management LP raised its stake in 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 worth $189,920,000 after buying an additional 100,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, PEAK6 LLC bought a new position in Mercury General in the second quarter worth approximately $9,361,000. Institutional investors own 42.39% of the company’s stock.

Mercury General Company Profile

Mercury General Corporation is an insurance holding company that writes personal and commercial property and casualty insurance. Its principal business is automobile insurance, including coverage for private passenger vehicles and commercial vehicles. The company also offers homeowners, renters, condominium, and other property-related insurance products, along with selected mechanical protection and umbrella coverage.

Founded in 1961, Mercury General is based in Los Angeles, California, and operates primarily through subsidiaries that market insurance directly and through independent agents.