Mercury General (NYSE:MCY) Stock Rating Lowered by StockNews.com

Mercury General (NYSE:MCY) was downgraded by investment analysts at StockNews.com from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report issued on Thursday.

Mercury General Stock Performance

NYSE MCY opened at $78.96 on Thursday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $68.79 and a 200-day moving average price of $61.36. The firm has a market cap of $4.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.83 and a beta of 0.81. Mercury General has a twelve month low of $36.81 and a twelve month high of $80.72. The company has a quick ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 0.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31.

Mercury General (NYSE:MCY) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The insurance provider reported $2.54 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.15 by $1.39. Mercury General had a return on equity of 18.04% and a net margin of 10.18%. The business had revenue of $1.53 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.37 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.14 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Mercury General will post 6.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Mercury General

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in Mercury General by 6.3% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 17,312 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,139,000 after acquiring an additional 1,024 shares in the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC bought a new stake in shares of Mercury General in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $325,000. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Mercury General by 2.5% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 623,460 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $39,273,000 after purchasing an additional 15,264 shares during the period. Barclays PLC increased its position in shares of Mercury General by 319.9% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 46,557 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $2,931,000 after purchasing an additional 35,470 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MML Investors Services LLC purchased a new stake in Mercury General during the 3rd quarter valued at $266,000. Institutional investors 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.