Mercury General (NYSE:MCY) Stock Price Down 3.9% – Here’s Why

Mercury General Corporation (NYSE:MCY)’s stock price dropped 3.9% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $99.76 and last traded at $100.9550. Approximately 30,830 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 88% from the average session volume of 267,918 shares. The stock had previously closed at $105.07.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently commented on MCY. Wall Street Zen upgraded Mercury General from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday, July 4th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Mercury General in a research note on Thursday, June 4th. Finally, Zacks Research raised Mercury General from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 18th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and one has assigned a Buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Strong Buy” and a consensus price target of $100.00.

Mercury General Stock Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $5.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.07 and a beta of 0.90. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $106.79 and its 200 day simple moving average is $98.63. The company has a quick ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 0.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33.

Mercury General (NYSE:MCY) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The insurance provider reported $3.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.53 by $0.99. The company had revenue of $1.68 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.52 billion. Mercury General had a net margin of 14.77% and a return on equity of 31.98%. On average, equities research analysts expect that Mercury General Corporation will post 12.75 earnings per share for the current year.

Mercury General Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 24th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, September 10th will be issued a $0.3175 dividend. This represents a $1.27 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 10th. Mercury General’s dividend payout ratio is currently 7.51%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Mercury General

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in shares of Mercury General during the second quarter worth approximately $479,604,000. California State Teachers Retirement System boosted its stake in Mercury General by 10,275.1% in the 2nd quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 3,512,276 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $374,479,000 after purchasing an additional 3,478,423 shares during the period. Rubric Capital Management LP grew its holdings in Mercury General by 4.9% in the 1st quarter. Rubric Capital Management LP now owns 2,154,504 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $189,920,000 after buying an additional 100,000 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in Mercury General by 2.2% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,149,647 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $189,492,000 after buying an additional 46,559 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. increased its position in Mercury General by 4.4% during the 4th quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 408,116 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $38,387,000 after buying an additional 17,306 shares during the period. 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.