Mercury General (NYSE:MCY) Downgraded to “Buy” Rating by StockNews.com

StockNews.com downgraded shares of Mercury General (NYSE:MCY) from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a research note published on Thursday morning.

Mercury General Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MCY opened at $68.58 on Thursday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $72.09 and its 200-day moving average is $63.55. The company has a current ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 0.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.80 billion, a PE ratio of 6.80 and a beta of 0.84. Mercury General has a 1-year low of $36.96 and a 1-year high of $80.72.

Mercury General (NYSE:MCY) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The insurance provider reported $2.54 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.15 by $1.39. Mercury General had a net margin of 10.18% and a return on equity of 18.04%. The firm had revenue of $1.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.37 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.14 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Mercury General will post 6.35 earnings per share for the current year.

Mercury General Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 26th. Investors of record on Thursday, December 12th were given a $0.317 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, December 12th. This represents a $1.27 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.85%. Mercury General’s dividend payout ratio is 12.59%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Mercury General

In other news, VP Heidi C. Sullivan sold 1,076 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.28, for a total transaction of $83,153.28. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Insiders own 35.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Mercury General

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its position in shares of Mercury General by 6.3% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 17,312 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,139,000 after acquiring an additional 1,024 shares during the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC bought a new stake in shares of Mercury General during the 3rd quarter worth 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 valued at $39,273,000 after buying an additional 15,264 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC grew its stake in shares of Mercury General by 319.9% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 46,557 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $2,931,000 after buying an additional 35,470 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MML Investors Services LLC acquired a new position in Mercury General during the third quarter worth $266,000. 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.