Mercury General (NYSE:MCY) Sets New 1-Year High – Still a Buy?

Mercury General Corporation (NYSE:MCY)’s share price hit a new 52-week high on Monday . The stock traded as high as $111.46 and last traded at $111.5260, with a volume of 306546 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $110.48.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MCY has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Zacks Research upgraded Mercury General from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 26th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Mercury General in a report on Thursday, June 4th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Mercury General from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Saturday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and one has issued a Buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Mercury General presently has a consensus rating of “Strong Buy” and a consensus price target of $100.00.

Mercury General Price Performance

The company has a 50-day moving average of $101.62 and a 200-day moving average of $94.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a current ratio of 0.44. The stock has a market cap of $6.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.30 and a beta of 0.89.

Mercury General (NYSE:MCY) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The insurance provider reported $3.50 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.15 by $1.35. The company had revenue of $1.54 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.46 billion. Mercury General had a return on equity of 32.94% and a net margin of 13.68%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Mercury General Corporation will post 11.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Mercury General Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 25th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, June 11th were paid a $0.3175 dividend. This represents a $1.27 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, June 11th. Mercury General’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 8.37%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Cetera Investment Advisers increased its position in Mercury General by 2.2% during the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 5,284 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $466,000 after purchasing an additional 112 shares during the period. Allworth Financial LP lifted its holdings in shares of Mercury General by 18.6% in the 3rd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 753 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $64,000 after buying an additional 118 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in shares of Mercury General by 19.2% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 752 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $71,000 after buying an additional 121 shares in the last quarter. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Mercury General by 32.6% in the first quarter. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC now owns 541 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $48,000 after buying an additional 133 shares in the last quarter. Finally, ProShare Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Mercury General by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 5,230 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $492,000 after acquiring an additional 164 shares during the period. 42.39% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.