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) announced a quarterly dividend on Tuesday, July 29th, RTT News reports. Shareholders of record on Thursday, September 11th will be paid a dividend of 0.3175 per share by the insurance provider on Thursday, September 25th. This represents a c) dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 11th.

Mercury General has a payout ratio of 19.0% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities 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 Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:MCY traded down $1.22 during trading on Friday, reaching $68.03. 404,861 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 283,410. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.66 and a beta of 0.96. Mercury General has a 12 month low of $44.19 and a 12 month high of $80.72. The company has a 50 day moving average of $66.06 and a 200-day moving average of $58.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 0.43 and a quick ratio of 0.51.

Mercury General (NYSE:MCY - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The insurance provider reported $2.67 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.10) by $2.77. The company had revenue of $1.48 billion during 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%. On average, equities analysts expect that Mercury General will post -0.5 EPS for the current year.

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.