Sheets Smith Investment Management Takes Position in Mercury General Co. (NYSE:MCY)

Sheets Smith Investment Management acquired a new stake in shares of Mercury General Co. (NYSE:MCY) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 19,281 shares of the insurance provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,282,000.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Mercury General by 145.1% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 554 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 328 shares during the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in Mercury General during the 4th quarter worth about $44,000. Millstone Evans Group LLC acquired a new stake in Mercury General during the 4th quarter worth about $60,000. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in Mercury General during the 4th quarter worth about $68,000. Finally, Quest Partners LLC grew its position in Mercury General by 12,340.0% during the 3rd quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 1,244 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $78,000 after purchasing an additional 1,234 shares during the period. 42.39% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have weighed in on MCY. Raymond James raised Mercury General from an “outperform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $70.00 to $80.00 in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. StockNews.com cut Mercury General from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th.

Mercury General Trading Down 1.6 %

MCY stock opened at $55.89 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 0.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The business’s 50-day moving average is $52.58 and its 200 day moving average is $62.49. Mercury General Co. has a 12-month low of $44.19 and a 12-month high of $80.72. The stock has a market cap of $3.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.61 and a beta of 0.80.

Mercury General (NYSE:MCY) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The insurance provider reported $2.78 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.94 by $0.84. Mercury General had a net margin of 8.55% and a return on equity of 22.54%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Mercury General Co. will post -0.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mercury General Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 27th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 13th will be given a dividend of $0.3175 per share. This represents a $1.27 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.27%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 13th. This is a positive change from Mercury General’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. Mercury General’s payout ratio is presently 15.03%.

About Mercury General

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.