Philadelphia Financial Management of San Francisco LLC Makes New Investment in Mercury General Corporation $MCY

Philadelphia Financial Management of San Francisco LLC purchased a new position in shares of Mercury General Corporation (NYSE:MCY) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 63,200 shares of the insurance provider’s stock, valued at approximately $6,738,384,000. Mercury General comprises approximately 1.4% of Philadelphia Financial Management of San Francisco LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 28th largest holding. Philadelphia Financial Management of San Francisco LLC owned about 0.11% of Mercury General at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Allworth Financial LP bought a new position in shares of Mercury General during the second quarter valued at about $35,000. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Mercury General in the fourth quarter valued at about $38,000. Mcguire Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Mercury General during the 4th quarter valued at about $40,000. IFP Advisors Inc increased its position in shares of Mercury General by 79.4% during the fourth quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 506 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $48,000 after buying an additional 224 shares during the period. Finally, State of Wyoming bought a new position in Mercury General in the second quarter worth about $78,000. Institutional investors own 42.39% of the company’s stock.

Mercury General Trading Up 0.2%

Mercury General stock opened at $104.69 on Thursday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $106.79 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $98.63. The company has a quick ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 0.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The company has a market cap of $5.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.19 and a beta of 0.90. Mercury General Corporation has a 52-week low of $74.29 and a 52-week high of $113.06.

Mercury General (NYSE:MCY) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The insurance provider reported $3.52 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.53 by $0.99. Mercury General had a net margin of 14.77% and a return on equity of 31.98%. The business had revenue of $1.68 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.52 billion. Analysts predict that Mercury General Corporation will post 12.75 EPS for the current year.

Mercury General Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 24th. Investors of record on Thursday, September 10th will be issued a $0.3175 dividend. This represents a $1.27 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 10th. Mercury General’s dividend payout ratio is currently 7.51%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Mercury General in a research note on Thursday, June 4th. Zacks Research upgraded Mercury General from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 18th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Mercury General from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday, July 4th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and one has assigned a Buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Strong Buy” and an average price target of $100.00.

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.