Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC Raises Stock Position in Mercury General Corporation $MCY

Key Points

• Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in Mercury General Corporation by 43%, owning 9,821 shares valued at approximately $661,000.
• Mercury General's shares are trading at $86.96 with a market cap of $4.82 billion, having recently reported earnings significantly above estimates.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.3175 per share, resulting in an annualized dividend yield of 1.5%.

Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its stake in Mercury General Corporation (NYSE:MCY - Free Report) by 43.0% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 9,821 shares of the insurance provider's stock after buying an additional 2,951 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC's holdings in Mercury General were worth $661,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Meeder Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Mercury General in the first quarter valued at approximately $50,000. Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new stake in shares of Mercury General in the first quarter valued at approximately $141,000. Covestor Ltd grew its position in shares of Mercury General by 745.5% in the first quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 2,545 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $142,000 after purchasing an additional 2,244 shares during the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. grew its position in shares of Mercury General by 24.6% in the first 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 last quarter. Finally, EntryPoint Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Mercury General in the first quarter valued at approximately $205,000. 42.39% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Mercury General Stock Up 3.4%

Shares of MCY opened at $86.96 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $4.82 billion, a PE ratio of 12.35 and a beta of 0.98. The company's fifty day moving average is $76.80 and its two-hundred day moving average is $66.19. Mercury General Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $44.19 and a fifty-two week high of $87.49. 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 earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The insurance provider reported $2.67 earnings per share 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 analyst estimates of $1.45 billion. Mercury General had a net margin of 6.76% and a return on equity of 16.61%. Analysts forecast that Mercury General Corporation will post -0.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Mercury General Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 25th. Investors of record on Thursday, September 11th were issued a dividend of $0.3175 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, September 11th. This represents a $1.27 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.5%. Mercury General's payout ratio is presently 18.04%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently commented on MCY. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of Mercury General in a research report on Saturday, September 27th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Mercury General from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 2nd. Finally, Raymond James Financial reaffirmed a "strong-buy" rating and issued a $100.00 target price (up from $90.00) on shares of Mercury General in a research note on Monday, September 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and one has given a Buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Strong Buy" and a consensus target price of $100.00.

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.

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