Mercury General (NYSE:MCY) Sets New 12-Month High - Time to Buy?

Key Points

• Mercury General's stock hit a new 52-week high, trading at $81.97, with a consensus rating of "Strong Buy" and a target price of $90.00 set by analysts.
• The company reported impressive quarterly earnings, with an EPS of $2.67, significantly exceeding the analysts' estimates and achieving a revenue of $1.48 billion.
• Mercury General declared a quarterly dividend of $0.3175 per share, resulting in a 1.6% yield and a payout ratio of 18.04%.

Shares of Mercury General Corporation (NYSE:MCY - Get Free Report) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $81.97 and last traded at $81.03, with a volume of 56974 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $79.51.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have issued reports on MCY. Raymond James Financial reiterated a "strong-buy" rating and set a $100.00 price target (up previously from $90.00) on shares of Mercury General in a research report on Monday. Wall Street Zen upgraded Mercury General from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, August 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Strong Buy" and an average price target of $100.00.

Mercury General Stock Performance

The firm has a 50 day moving average of $74.09 and a two-hundred day moving average of $64.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a current ratio of 0.43. The stock has a market cap of $4.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.66 and a beta of 0.98.

Mercury General (NYSE:MCY - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The insurance provider reported $2.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.10) by $2.77. Mercury General had a return on equity of 16.61% and a net margin of 6.76%.The business had revenue of $1.48 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.45 billion. On average, research analysts predict that Mercury General Corporation will post -0.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mercury General Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 25th. Investors of record on Thursday, September 11th will be issued a dividend of $0.3175 per share. This represents a $1.27 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 11th. Mercury General's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 18.04%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Mercury General

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. increased its holdings in Mercury General by 14.0% during the 2nd quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. now owns 560,670 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $37,756,000 after purchasing an additional 68,983 shares in the last quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board increased its holdings in Mercury General by 7.4% during the 2nd quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 90,522 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $6,096,000 after purchasing an additional 6,223 shares in the last quarter. State of Tennessee Department of Treasury increased its holdings in Mercury General by 109.7% during the 2nd quarter. State of Tennessee Department of Treasury now owns 13,753 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $926,000 after purchasing an additional 7,196 shares in the last quarter. Rubric Capital Management LP increased its holdings in Mercury General by 12.8% during the 2nd quarter. Rubric Capital Management LP now owns 2,054,504 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $138,350,000 after purchasing an additional 232,721 shares in the last quarter. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its holdings in Mercury General by 55.7% during the 2nd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 85,566 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $5,762,000 after purchasing an additional 30,621 shares in the last quarter. 42.39% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.