Mercury General (NYSE:MCY) Sets New 1-Year High – What’s Next?

Mercury General Co. (NYSE:MCY)’s share price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $76.51 and last traded at $76.46, with a volume of 266381 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $73.73.

Mercury General Stock Up 1.1 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 0.33 and a quick ratio of 0.33. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $67.27 and a 200-day moving average price of $60.76. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.66 and a beta of 0.81.

Mercury General (NYSE:MCY) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The insurance provider reported $2.54 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.15 by $1.39. Mercury General had a net margin of 10.18% and a return on equity of 18.04%. The business had revenue of $1.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.37 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.14 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Mercury General Co. will post 6.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mercury General Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 26th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 12th will be given a dividend of $0.317 per share. This represents a $1.27 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.64%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, December 12th. Mercury General’s payout ratio is 12.59%.

Institutional Trading of Mercury General

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MCY. Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Mercury General by 7,606.6% during the 1st quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 53,330 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $2,752,000 after acquiring an additional 52,638 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Mercury General by 1.5% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,256,765 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $168,049,000 after purchasing an additional 48,508 shares during the last quarter. Caxton Associates LP bought a new position in Mercury General in the 1st quarter worth about $486,000. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its stake in Mercury General by 20.5% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 52,688 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $2,800,000 after purchasing an additional 8,976 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sei Investments Co. grew its position in Mercury General by 132.7% during the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 17,561 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $906,000 after purchasing an additional 10,014 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.