Mercury General (NYSE:MCY) Rating Lowered to Buy at StockNews.com

Mercury General (NYSE:MCY) was downgraded by equities researchers at StockNews.com from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report issued on Wednesday.

Mercury General Stock Up 1.2 %

Mercury General stock opened at $68.19 on Wednesday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $71.90 and a 200-day moving average of $63.08. The company has a quick ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 0.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. Mercury General has a twelve month low of $36.96 and a twelve month high of $80.72. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.78 billion, a PE ratio of 6.76 and a beta of 0.84.

Mercury General (NYSE:MCY) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The insurance provider reported $2.54 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.15 by $1.39. Mercury General had a net margin of 10.18% and a return on equity of 18.04%. The firm had revenue of $1.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.37 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.14 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Mercury General will post 6.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Mercury General

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

Institutional Trading of Mercury General

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of MCY. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in Mercury General by 4.7% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,999,235 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $106,237,000 after purchasing an additional 88,954 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Mercury General by 2.5% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 623,460 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $39,273,000 after buying an additional 15,264 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its stake in shares of Mercury General by 3.8% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 310,333 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $16,491,000 after buying an additional 11,242 shares in the last quarter. Phase 2 Partners LLC increased its holdings in Mercury General by 142.1% during the third quarter. Phase 2 Partners LLC now owns 273,955 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $17,254,000 after buying an additional 160,808 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its position in Mercury General by 607.5% during the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 214,427 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $13,505,000 after acquiring an additional 184,121 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 42.39% of the company’s stock.

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.