Mercury General (NYSE:MCY) Shares Gap Up Following Earnings Beat

Mercury General Co. (NYSE:MCY)’s stock price gapped up prior to trading on Wednesday after the company announced better than expected quarterly earnings. The stock had previously closed at $50.09, but opened at $59.97. Mercury General shares last traded at $58.97, with a volume of 719,992 shares.

The insurance provider reported $2.78 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.94 by $0.84. Mercury General had a net margin of 10.18% and a return on equity of 18.04%.

Mercury General Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 27th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.3175 per share. This represents a $1.27 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.31%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 13th. This is a boost from Mercury General’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. Mercury General’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 12.59%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently commented on MCY shares. StockNews.com cut Mercury General from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 26th. Raymond James raised Mercury General from an “outperform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $70.00 to $80.00 in a research note on Wednesday.

Insider Buying and Selling at Mercury General

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MCY. Sanctuary Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Mercury General in the second quarter worth $299,000. CWM LLC increased its holdings in Mercury General by 115.8% in the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,215 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $77,000 after acquiring an additional 652 shares during the last quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC lifted its stake in Mercury General by 99.9% in the 3rd quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 27,187 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,712,000 after purchasing an additional 13,589 shares in the last quarter. nVerses Capital LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Mercury General by 100.0% during the 3rd quarter. nVerses Capital LLC now owns 3,600 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $227,000 after purchasing an additional 1,800 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Mercury General by 72.0% during the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,151 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $72,000 after purchasing an additional 482 shares during the last quarter. 42.39% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Mercury General Trading Up 9.5 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 0.33 and a quick ratio of 0.33. The stock has a market cap of $3.04 billion, a PE ratio of 5.44 and a beta of 0.85. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $59.80 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $63.78.

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.