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

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Mercury General (NYSE:MCY) from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating in a research report sent to investors on Saturday morning.

Mercury General Stock Down 1.1 %

MCY stock opened at $55.54 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $51.04 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $43.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 0.30 and a quick ratio of 0.30. Mercury General has a 1-year low of $27.27 and a 1-year high of $57.12. The firm has a market cap of $3.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.28 and a beta of 0.77.

Mercury General (NYSE:MCY) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 13th. The insurance provider reported $1.15 EPS for the quarter, beating 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. Research analysts predict that Mercury General will post 2.9 EPS for the current year.

Mercury General Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 27th. Investors of record on Thursday, June 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.3175 per share. This is a boost from Mercury General’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, June 13th. This represents a $1.27 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.29%. Mercury General’s payout ratio is presently 32.65%.

Institutional Trading of Mercury General

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Larson Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Mercury General in the 3rd quarter worth $25,000. Gradient Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of Mercury General in the third quarter worth about $38,000. Global Retirement Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Mercury General by 5,212.5% during the fourth quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 1,700 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $67,000 after acquiring an additional 1,668 shares during the period. Cornerstone Investment Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Mercury General in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $205,000. Finally, Teacher Retirement System of Texas boosted its stake in Mercury General by 5.9% in the 3rd quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 7,487 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $210,000 after purchasing an additional 416 shares during the period. 42.39% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.