Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC Sells 30,700 Shares of Mercury General Corporation $MCY

Key Points

• Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC reduced its stake in Mercury General Corporation by 31.3%, selling 30,700 shares and now holding around 0.12% of the company.
• Mercury General recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.3175, representing an annualized yield of 1.7%, with a payout ratio of 18.04%.
• Wall Street analysts have a strong-buy rating on Mercury General with an average target price of $90.00, indicating potential growth and positive earnings forecasts despite a projected EPS of -0.5 for the current year.

Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC trimmed its stake in Mercury General Corporation (NYSE:MCY - Free Report) by 31.3% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 67,420 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 30,700 shares during the period. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC owned about 0.12% of Mercury General worth $3,769,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of MCY. Meeder Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Mercury General during the first quarter worth $50,000. Quantbot Technologies LP bought a new stake in shares of Mercury General during the first quarter worth $141,000. Covestor Ltd grew its holdings in shares of Mercury General by 745.5% during the first quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 2,545 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $142,000 after purchasing an additional 2,244 shares during the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Mercury General by 24.6% during the first quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 3,057 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $171,000 after purchasing an additional 604 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. bought a new stake in shares of Mercury General during the fourth quarter worth $200,000. 42.39% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Mercury General Price Performance

Mercury General stock opened at $76.4070 on Tuesday. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $69.07 and its 200 day simple moving average is $61.15. The stock has a market cap of $4.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.85 and a beta of 0.96. Mercury General Corporation has a 12-month low of $44.19 and a 12-month high of $80.72. The company has a quick ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29.

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

Mercury General Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently commented on MCY. 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 report on Monday, August 4th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Mercury General from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, August 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Strong Buy" and an average target price of $90.00.

Mercury General 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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.