Royce & Associates LP Increases Stock Holdings in Mercury General Corporation (NYSE:MCY)

Key Points

• Royce & Associates LP increased its stake in Mercury General Corporation by 123.4%, owning 21,461 shares valued at approximately $1.2 million.
• Wall Street analysts upgraded Mercury General's rating from "hold" to "buy," indicating growing confidence in the company's prospects.
• Mercury General reported a $2.29 loss per share for the recent quarter, despite revenue of $1.31 billion, slightly below analyst estimates.

Royce & Associates LP lifted its holdings in shares of Mercury General Corporation (NYSE:MCY - Free Report) by 123.4% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 21,461 shares of the insurance provider's stock after acquiring an additional 11,854 shares during the period. Royce & Associates LP's holdings in Mercury General were worth $1,200,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Readystate Asset Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of Mercury General during the 1st quarter worth about $350,000. CWM LLC raised its position in shares of Mercury General by 157.0% during the 1st quarter. CWM LLC now owns 10,430 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $583,000 after acquiring an additional 6,372 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in Mercury General by 115.7% during the 1st quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 11,955 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $668,000 after buying an additional 6,413 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in Mercury General by 2.7% during the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 132,459 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $7,404,000 after buying an additional 3,468 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Convergence Financial LLC purchased a new position in Mercury General during the 1st quarter worth approximately $232,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 42.39% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Wall Street Zen upgraded Mercury General from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, May 12th.

Mercury General Stock Performance

NYSE:MCY traded down $1.68 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $67.57. 98,241 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 535,828. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $65.90 and a 200-day simple moving average of $58.28. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.57 and a beta of 0.96. The company has a quick ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. Mercury General Corporation has a 1 year low of $44.19 and a 1 year high of $80.72.

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

Mercury General Dividend Announcement

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. This represents a $1.27 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 11th. Mercury General's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 18.04%.

Mercury General Company 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.