Mercury General Corporation (NYSE:MCY) to Issue $0.32 Quarterly Dividend

Key Points

• Mercury General Corporation has announced a $0.32 quarterly dividend to be distributed to shareholders on September 25th, representing an annualized rate of $1.27 with a dividend yield of 1.80%.
• The company reported $2.67 earnings per share for the last quarter, significantly exceeding analyst expectations, with a current payout ratio of 19% indicating strong earnings coverage for dividends.
• Wall Street analysts have recently upgraded Mercury General's stock rating from "hold" to "buy," suggesting positive sentiment towards the company's market performance.

Mercury General Corporation (NYSE:MCY - Get Free Report) declared a quarterly dividend on Tuesday, July 29th, RTT News reports. Shareholders of record on Thursday, September 11th will be given a dividend of 0.3175 per share by the insurance provider on Thursday, September 25th. This represents a $1.27 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.80%.

Mercury General has a payout ratio of 19.0% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research analysts expect Mercury General to earn $5.25 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.27 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 24.2%.

Mercury General Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MCY traded up $0.52 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $70.44. The company had a trading volume of 304,309 shares, compared to its average volume of 538,001. The company has a market cap of $3.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.65 and a beta of 0.96. Mercury General has a 52 week low of $44.19 and a 52 week high of $80.72. The business's 50-day moving average is $65.34 and its 200 day moving average is $57.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 0.51 and a current ratio of 0.51.

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. Mercury General had a return on equity of 12.52% and a net margin of 5.11%. Equities research analysts predict that Mercury General will post -0.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Mercury General

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Empowered Funds LLC raised its stake in Mercury General by 1.7% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 10,923 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $611,000 after purchasing an additional 185 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Mercury General by 4.6% during the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 15,935 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $891,000 after acquiring an additional 702 shares in the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada grew its holdings in shares of Mercury General by 58.8% during the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 54,312 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $3,036,000 after acquiring an additional 20,115 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Millennium Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Mercury General by 8.5% during the 1st quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 111,327 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $6,223,000 after acquiring an additional 8,742 shares in the last quarter. 42.39% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

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.

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