Mercury General (NYSE:MCY) Stock Price Down 4% - What's Next?

Key Points

• Mercury General's stock (NYSE:MCY) dropped by 4% on Wednesday, closing at $78.35, significantly lower than its previous close of $81.60, with a sharp decline in trading volume.
• Despite the recent downturn, analysts have mixed ratings on the stock, with a consensus target price of $100.00, reflecting a strong buy recommendation from some firms but a downgrade to hold from others.
• The company reported $2.67 EPS for its last quarter, surpassing expectations, and declared a quarterly dividend with a yield of 1.6%, indicating ongoing shareholder returns.

Mercury General Corporation (NYSE:MCY - Get Free Report) shares dropped 4% on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $78.28 and last traded at $78.35. Approximately 36,772 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 92% from the average daily volume of 456,165 shares. The stock had previously closed at $81.60.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MCY has been the subject of several research reports. Raymond James Financial reissued a "strong-buy" rating and set a $100.00 price objective (up previously from $90.00) on shares of Mercury General in a research report on Monday, September 22nd. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Mercury General from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, October 3rd. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Mercury General from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 2nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of Mercury General in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has assigned a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Mercury General presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $100.00.

Mercury General Trading Down 2.8%

The stock has a market cap of $4.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.27 and a beta of 0.98. The company has a quick ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $78.58 and its 200 day simple moving average is $67.54.

Mercury General (NYSE:MCY - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly 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 firm 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%. On average, research analysts expect that Mercury General Corporation will post -0.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mercury General Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 25th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, September 11th were paid a $0.3175 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, September 11th. This represents a $1.27 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.6%. Mercury General's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 18.04%.

Institutional Trading of Mercury General

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of MCY. Meeder Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Mercury General during the 1st quarter worth about $50,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Mercury General by 194.2% during the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,209 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $81,000 after buying an additional 798 shares during the last quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new stake in shares of Mercury General during the 1st quarter worth about $141,000. Covestor Ltd lifted its stake in shares of Mercury General by 745.5% during the 1st quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 2,545 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $142,000 after buying an additional 2,244 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Federated Hermes Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Mercury General by 24.6% during the 1st quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 3,057 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $171,000 after buying an additional 604 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 42.39% of the company's stock.

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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