Mercury General (NYSE:MCY) Shares Gap Up – Time to Buy?

Mercury General Corporation (NYSE:MCY) shares gapped up before the market opened on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $103.15, but opened at $107.01. Mercury General shares last traded at $106.7560, with a volume of 12,133 shares.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MCY has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Wall Street Zen lowered Mercury General from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, June 13th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Mercury General in a research report on Thursday, June 4th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded Mercury General from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 26th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and one has assigned a Buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Strong Buy” and an average price target of $100.00.

Mercury General Stock Performance

The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $99.47 and its 200 day simple moving average is $93.60. The stock has a market cap of $5.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.87 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a current ratio of 0.44, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22.

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

Mercury General Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 25th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, June 11th were paid a $0.3175 dividend. This represents a $1.27 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, June 11th. Mercury General’s dividend payout ratio is 8.37%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Mercury General

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Park West Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Mercury General in the 3rd quarter worth about $23,953,000. Rubric Capital Management LP increased its holdings in Mercury General by 12.8% during the second quarter. Rubric Capital Management LP now owns 2,054,504 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $138,350,000 after buying an additional 232,721 shares during the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. increased its holdings in Mercury General by 2,513.7% during the second quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 157,893 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $10,633,000 after buying an additional 151,852 shares during the last quarter. Philosophy Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Mercury General in the third quarter worth about $11,778,000. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. raised its position in Mercury General by 22.9% in the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 578,671 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $49,060,000 after acquiring an additional 107,766 shares during the period. 42.39% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Mercury General Company Profile

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.