Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio Buys New Position in Mercury General Corporation $MCY

Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio bought 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 & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 9,635 shares of the insurance provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,027,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. PenderFund Capital Management Ltd. acquired a new position in Mercury General in the second quarter valued at approximately $44,000. Parvin Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Mercury General during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $239,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Mercury General in the 2nd quarter valued at $3,391,000. Park West Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Mercury General during the 2nd quarter valued at $5,956,000. Finally, Philadelphia Financial Management of San Francisco LLC acquired a new position in shares of Mercury General during the 2nd quarter valued at $6,738,384. 42.39% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Mercury General Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MCY opened at $102.64 on Wednesday. Mercury General Corporation has a twelve month low of $74.29 and a twelve month high of $113.06. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $106.43 and its 200-day moving average is $99.26. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $5.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.07 and a beta of 0.90.

Mercury General (NYSE:MCY) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The insurance provider reported $3.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.52 billion. Sell-side analysts forecast that Mercury General Corporation will post 12.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mercury General Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 24th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, September 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.3175 per share. This represents a $1.27 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 10th. Mercury General’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 7.51%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have commented on MCY. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Mercury General in a report on Tuesday, September 1st. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Mercury General from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday, July 4th. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of Mercury General from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 18th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and one has assigned a Buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Mercury General currently has an average rating of “Strong Buy” and an average target price of $100.00.

Mercury General Profile

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.