19,294 Shares in Mercury General Corporation (NYSE:MCY) Bought by GSA Capital Partners LLP

Key Points

• GSA Capital Partners LLP acquired 19,294 shares of Mercury General Corporation, valued at approximately $1,079,000, during the first quarter.
• Mercury General's recent earnings report showed an EPS of $2.67 for the quarter, significantly exceeding the consensus estimate of ($0.10).
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.3175 per share, with a yield of 1.8%, to be distributed on September 25th.

GSA Capital Partners LLP acquired a new position in Mercury General Corporation (NYSE:MCY - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 19,294 shares of the insurance provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,079,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MCY. Federated Hermes Inc. grew its position in shares of Mercury General by 24.6% in the 1st quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 3,057 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $171,000 after purchasing an additional 604 shares during the period. Meeder Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in Mercury General during the 1st quarter worth about $50,000. Royce & Associates LP lifted its holdings in shares of Mercury General by 123.4% in the first quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 21,461 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $1,200,000 after purchasing an additional 11,854 shares in the last quarter. Readystate Asset Management LP acquired a new position in shares of Mercury General during the first quarter worth about $350,000. Finally, CWM LLC raised its position in Mercury General by 157.0% in the 1st quarter. CWM LLC now owns 10,430 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $583,000 after buying an additional 6,372 shares during the last quarter. 42.39% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on MCY shares. Raymond James Financial reiterated a "strong-buy" rating and issued a $90.00 price objective (up from $80.00) on shares of Mercury General in a report on Monday. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Mercury General from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday.

Mercury General Stock Down 0.2%

Shares of NYSE:MCY traded down $0.17 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $71.52. 73,579 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 533,254. The stock has a market cap of $3.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.16 and a beta of 0.96. The company has a current ratio of 0.43, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. Mercury General Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $44.19 and a fifty-two week high of $80.72. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $66.30 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $58.65.

Mercury General (NYSE:MCY - Get Free Report) last issued 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. The company had revenue of $1.48 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.45 billion. Mercury General had a net margin of 6.76% and a return on equity of 16.61%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Mercury General Corporation will post -0.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mercury General Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 25th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, September 11th will be given a $0.3175 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 11th. This represents a $1.27 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.8%. Mercury General's dividend payout ratio is presently 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.