Mercury General (NYSE:MCY) Releases Earnings Results, Beats Estimates By $2.77 EPS

Key Points

• Mercury General (NYSE: MCY) reported a quarterly earnings of $2.67 EPS, exceeding analysts' expectations by $2.77.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.3175 per share, resulting in an annualized dividend yield of 1.80%.
• Wall Street Zen has upgraded Mercury General from a "hold" to a "buy" rating, reflecting increasing confidence in the company's performance.

Mercury General (NYSE:MCY - Get Free Report) posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday. The insurance provider reported $2.67 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.10) by $2.77, Zacks reports. The business had revenue of $1.48 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.45 billion. Mercury General had a net margin of 6.76% and a return on equity of 16.61%.

Mercury General Stock Down 1.8%

NYSE MCY traded down $1.22 during trading on Friday, reaching $68.03. The company's stock had a trading volume of 404,861 shares, compared to its average volume of 283,410. The company has a current ratio of 0.43, a quick ratio of 0.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.77 billion, a PE ratio of 9.66 and a beta of 0.96. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $66.06 and a 200-day moving average price of $58.41. Mercury General has a 1-year low of $44.19 and a 1-year high of $80.72.

Mercury General Dividend Announcement

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

Institutional Trading of Mercury General

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its stake in Mercury General by 1.7% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 10,923 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $611,000 after acquiring an additional 185 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its stake in Mercury General by 4.6% in the first 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 during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC lifted its stake in Mercury General by 8.5% in the first 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted its stake in Mercury General by 58.8% in the first 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 during the last quarter. 42.39% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Mercury General from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday.

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.