Mercury General Co. (NYSE:MCY) Declares Dividend Increase – $0.32 Per Share

Mercury General Co. (NYSE:MCY) announced a quarterly dividend on Tuesday, February 11th,RTT News reports. Investors of record on Thursday, March 13th will be given a dividend of 0.3175 per share by the insurance provider on Thursday, March 27th. This represents a $1.27 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.53%. This is a positive change from Mercury General’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32.

Mercury General has decreased its dividend payment by an average of 20.6% annually over the last three years. Mercury General has a dividend payout ratio of 19.5% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Research analysts expect Mercury General to earn $3.45 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.27 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 36.8%.

Mercury General Stock Down 1.1 %

MCY stock traded down $0.55 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $50.13. 1,266,942 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,047,710. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $60.79 and its 200-day moving average is $63.90. Mercury General has a 12 month low of $39.56 and a 12 month high of $80.72. The company has a market cap of $2.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 4.97 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 0.33 and a quick ratio of 0.33.

Mercury General (NYSE:MCY) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 11th. The insurance provider reported $2.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.94 by $0.84. Mercury General had a return on equity of 18.04% and a net margin of 10.18%. On average, equities research analysts expect that Mercury General will post 5.05 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Mercury General from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 26th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Heidi C. Sullivan sold 1,076 shares of the business’s 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 SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 35.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.