Hsbc Holdings PLC Acquires New Holdings in Mercury General Corporation $MCY

Hsbc Holdings PLC bought a new stake in Mercury General Corporation (NYSE:MCY) during the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor bought 19,177 shares of the insurance provider’s stock, valued at approximately $2,060,000.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Mercury General during the second quarter valued at about $479,604,000. Park West Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Mercury General in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $23,953,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new position in shares of Mercury General in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $26,295,000. Rubric Capital Management LP boosted its position in shares of Mercury General by 12.8% during the 2nd quarter. Rubric Capital Management LP now owns 2,054,504 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $138,350,000 after purchasing an additional 232,721 shares during the period. Finally, Sei Investments Co. boosted its position in shares of Mercury General by 2,513.7% during the 2nd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 157,893 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $10,633,000 after purchasing an additional 151,852 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 42.39% of the company’s stock.

Mercury General Stock Down 0.1%

Mercury General stock opened at $102.88 on Monday. Mercury General Corporation has a twelve month low of $74.29 and a twelve month high of $113.06. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $106.82 and its 200-day simple moving average is $98.75. The company has a current ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 0.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.08 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 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $1.68 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.52 billion. As a group, equities analysts expect that Mercury General Corporation will post 12.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mercury General Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have issued reports on MCY. Zacks Research raised Mercury General from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 18th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Mercury General in a research note on Thursday, June 4th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Mercury General from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday, July 4th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and one has given a Buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Strong Buy” and a consensus price target of $100.00.

About Mercury General

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.