Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. Increases Stake in Mercury General Corporation (NYSE:MCY)

Key Points

• Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. increased its holdings in Mercury General Corporation by 84.6% during Q1, owning approximately 0.39% of the company valued at $12.1 million by the end of the quarter.
• Wall Street analysts have forecasted growth for Mercury General, with Raymond James reissuing a "strong-buy" rating and raising the price target to $90.00 from $80.00.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.3175, representing an annualized yield of 1.8%, with the ex-dividend date set for September 11th.

Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. increased its position in shares of Mercury General Corporation (NYSE:MCY - Free Report) by 84.6% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 216,735 shares of the insurance provider's stock after buying an additional 99,354 shares during the period. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. owned 0.39% of Mercury General worth $12,115,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Sterling Capital Management LLC grew its position in Mercury General by 772.9% in the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 742 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $49,000 after purchasing an additional 657 shares during the period. Meeder Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Mercury General in the first quarter valued at approximately $50,000. Federated Hermes Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Mercury General by 23.5% in the fourth quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 2,453 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $163,000 after purchasing an additional 466 shares in the last quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. purchased a new position in shares of Mercury General during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $200,000. Finally, Pallas Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Mercury General during the first quarter worth $227,000. 42.39% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Mercury General Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE MCY traded up $0.98 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $74.97. The company had a trading volume of 248,565 shares, compared to its average volume of 296,665. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $67.49 and its 200-day moving average price is $59.64. The company has a market capitalization of $4.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.65 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 1 year low of $44.19 and a 1 year high of $80.72.

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

Mercury General Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have issued reports on MCY. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Mercury General from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 2nd. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed a "strong-buy" rating and issued a $90.00 target price (up from $80.00) on shares of Mercury General in a report on Monday, August 4th.

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.