Mercury General (NYSE:MCY) Upgraded to “Strong-Buy” at StockNews.com

Mercury General (NYSE:MCY) was upgraded by equities research analysts at StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report issued on Saturday.

Mercury General Price Performance

Mercury General stock opened at $54.70 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $3.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.06 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $50.70 and a 200-day simple moving average of $42.44. The company has a current ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. Mercury General has a 12-month low of $27.27 and a 12-month high of $57.12.

Mercury General (NYSE:MCY) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 13th. The insurance provider reported $1.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.05 by $1.10. Mercury General had a return on equity of 9.85% and a net margin of 4.48%. The company had revenue of $1.21 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.16 billion. Equities analysts expect that Mercury General will post 2.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Mercury General

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in Mercury General by 4.4% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,893,881 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $70,662,000 after buying an additional 79,659 shares during the last quarter. Absher Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Mercury General by 4.8% during the third quarter. Absher Wealth Management LLC now owns 720,225 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $20,188,000 after acquiring an additional 32,876 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Mercury General by 3.0% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 504,744 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $18,832,000 after acquiring an additional 14,688 shares during the period. Speece Thorson Capital Group Inc. raised its position in Mercury General by 21.0% in the 3rd quarter. Speece Thorson Capital Group Inc. now owns 383,735 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $10,756,000 after purchasing an additional 66,574 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. boosted its stake in Mercury General by 8.5% during the 3rd quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 334,377 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $9,373,000 after purchasing an additional 26,195 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 42.39% of the company’s stock.

Mercury General Company Profile

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.