Mercury General (NYSE:MCY) Stock Rating Lowered by StockNews.com

StockNews.com cut shares of Mercury General (NYSE:MCY) from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a research report sent to investors on Wednesday morning.

Mercury General Trading Up 1.7 %

MCY opened at $53.57 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $2.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.79 and a beta of 0.80. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $49.36 and its 200-day moving average price is $40.83. Mercury General has a one year low of $26.15 and a one year high of $54.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a current ratio of 0.30.

Mercury General (NYSE:MCY) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 13th. The insurance provider reported $1.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.05 by $1.10. Mercury General had a return on equity of 1.17% and a net margin of 2.08%. The company had revenue of $1.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.16 billion. On average, equities analysts forecast that Mercury General will post 2.9 EPS for the current year.

Mercury General Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 27th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 13th were paid a $0.317 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 12th. This represents a $1.27 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.37%. Mercury General’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 72.99%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Fairfield Bush & CO. bought a new position in Mercury General in the first quarter worth approximately $33,000. Quarry LP lifted its holdings in Mercury General by 35.6% during the fourth quarter. Quarry LP now owns 876 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 230 shares during the period. Larson Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in Mercury General during the third quarter worth $25,000. Captrust Financial Advisors lifted its holdings in Mercury General by 23.8% during the first quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 1,244 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $68,000 after buying an additional 239 shares during the period. Finally, Gradient Investments LLC purchased a new stake in Mercury General during the third quarter worth $38,000. Institutional investors own 42.39% of the company’s stock.

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.