Mercury General (NYSE:MCY) Downgraded by Zacks Research to Hold

Zacks Research lowered shares of Mercury General (NYSE:MCY) from a strong-buy rating to a hold rating in a research report sent to investors on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other brokerages also recently issued reports on MCY. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Mercury General in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Mercury General from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has issued a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Mercury General has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $100.00.

Mercury General Stock Down 2.1%

NYSE MCY traded down $2.05 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $96.18. 35,584 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 255,892. The company has a quick ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 0.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. The firm has a market cap of $5.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.85 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a 50 day moving average of $90.53 and a two-hundred day moving average of $89.20. Mercury General has a 52-week low of $54.00 and a 52-week high of $100.06.

Mercury General (NYSE:MCY) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 17th. The insurance provider reported $3.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.56 by $1.10. Mercury General had a return on equity of 20.74% and a net margin of 9.03%.The business had revenue of $1.54 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.37 billion. Equities research analysts anticipate that Mercury General will post 9 earnings per share for the current year.

Mercury General Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 26th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 12th were given a dividend of $0.3175 per share. This represents a $1.27 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 12th. Mercury General’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 13.00%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Mercury General

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Inspire Investing LLC increased its stake in Mercury General by 30.5% in the first quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 24,074 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $2,122,000 after purchasing an additional 5,622 shares during the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC lifted its position in shares of Mercury General by 7.4% during the 1st quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 15,509 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,367,000 after buying an additional 1,066 shares during the last quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA lifted its position in shares of Mercury General by 14.3% during the 1st quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 4,361 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $384,000 after buying an additional 545 shares during the last quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System acquired a new position in shares of Mercury General in the 1st quarter valued at $1,040,000. Finally, Ritholtz Wealth Management boosted its holdings in shares of Mercury General by 58.6% in the 1st quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 40,483 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $3,569,000 after buying an additional 14,960 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 42.39% of the company’s stock.

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.