Mercury General (NYSE:MCY) Hits New 12-Month High - What's Next?

Mercury General Corporation (NYSE:MCY - Get Free Report)'s share price reached a new 52-week high during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $88.54 and last traded at $88.2640, with a volume of 23371 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $86.96.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Raymond James Financial reiterated a "strong-buy" rating and issued a $100.00 price target (up from $90.00) on shares of Mercury General in a research report on Monday, September 22nd. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Mercury General from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, August 2nd. Zacks Research lowered shares of Mercury General from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, October 3rd. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of Mercury General in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has assigned a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $100.00.

Read Our Latest Research Report on Mercury General

Mercury General Stock Performance

The stock has a 50-day moving average of $80.60 and a 200 day moving average of $71.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 0.43 and a quick ratio of 0.43. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.41 and a beta of 0.97.

Mercury General (NYSE:MCY - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 4th. The insurance provider reported $3.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.15 by $1.71. Mercury General had a net margin of 6.76% and a return on equity of 16.61%. The firm had revenue of $1.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.49 billion. On average, analysts expect that Mercury General Corporation will post -0.5 EPS for the current year.

Mercury General Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 24th. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.3175 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, December 10th. This represents a $1.27 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.5%. Mercury General's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 16.02%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in shares of Mercury General by 2.4% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,105,976 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $117,723,000 after buying an additional 49,155 shares in the last quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Mercury General by 12.7% in the first quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 168,626 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $9,426,000 after purchasing an additional 18,948 shares during the last quarter. EntryPoint Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Mercury General in the 1st quarter worth approximately $205,000. American National Bank & Trust bought a new stake in shares of Mercury General in the 2nd quarter valued at $303,000. Finally, Intech Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Mercury General by 108.2% during the 1st quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 58,198 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $3,253,000 after purchasing an additional 30,244 shares in the last quarter. 42.39% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.

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