Fox Run Management L.L.C. Invests $1.11 Million in Mercury General Corporation $MCY

Key Points

• Fox Run Management L.L.C. has acquired a new stake in Mercury General Corporation, purchasing 19,862 shares worth approximately $1.11 million.
• Mercury General recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.3175 per share, translating to an annual yield of 1.7% and a payout ratio of 18.04%.
• Analysts have shown optimism, with Raymond James Financial upgrading its rating to "strong-buy" and increasing its price target from $80.00 to $90.00.

Fox Run Management L.L.C. bought a new position in Mercury General Corporation (NYSE:MCY - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 19,862 shares of the insurance provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,110,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of Mercury General by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,056,821 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $136,739,000 after purchasing an additional 16,299 shares during the period. Castlekeep Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Mercury General in the fourth quarter valued at about $113,252,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. acquired a new stake in shares of Mercury General in the first quarter valued at about $53,535,000. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Mercury General in the first quarter valued at about $27,485,000. Finally, Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Mercury General by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 370,140 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $24,607,000 after purchasing an additional 1,835 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 42.39% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have issued reports on MCY. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Mercury General from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 2nd. Raymond James Financial restated a "strong-buy" rating and set a $90.00 target price (up previously from $80.00) on shares of Mercury General in a research report on Monday, August 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, According to MarketBeat, Mercury General currently has an average rating of "Strong Buy" and an average price target of $90.00.

Mercury General Trading Up 0.5%

Mercury General stock traded up $0.3580 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $73.9480. The company had a trading volume of 17,425 shares, compared to its average volume of 512,569. Mercury General Corporation has a 12-month low of $44.19 and a 12-month high of $80.72. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $68.20 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $60.36. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.51 and a beta of 0.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a current ratio of 0.43.

Mercury General (NYSE:MCY - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The insurance provider reported $2.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.10) by $2.77. Mercury General had a net margin of 6.76% and a return on equity of 16.61%. The firm had revenue of $1.48 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.45 billion. As a group, equities analysts expect that Mercury General Corporation will post -0.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mercury General Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 25th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, September 11th will be given a dividend of $0.3175 per share. This represents a $1.27 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 11th. Mercury General's payout ratio is 18.04%.

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.