Mercury General (NYSE:MCY) Lowered to Buy at StockNews.com

Mercury General (NYSE:MCY - Get Free Report) was downgraded by equities researchers at StockNews.com from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday.

Mercury General Stock Performance

MCY stock traded down $1.34 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $52.03. 273,112 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 210,865. The company has a quick ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 0.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. Mercury General has a 52 week low of $26.15 and a 52 week high of $54.59. The business has a 50-day moving average of $48.84 and a two-hundred day moving average of $40.57. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.88 billion, a PE ratio of 29.90 and a beta of 0.80.

Mercury General (NYSE:MCY - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 13th. The insurance provider reported $1.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.05 by $1.10. Mercury General had a net margin of 2.08% and a return on equity of 1.17%. The company had revenue of $1.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.16 billion. As a group, equities analysts predict that Mercury General will post 2.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Mercury General

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of MCY. BlackRock Inc. raised its position in shares of Mercury General by 63.0% during the third quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 5,275,905 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $149,942,000 after buying an additional 2,039,972 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in shares of Mercury General by 24.5% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,521,741 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $48,299,000 after buying an additional 299,006 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Mercury General by 10.3% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,051,777 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $86,732,000 after buying an additional 285,445 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its position in shares of Mercury General by 20.8% during the first quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,274,652 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $70,106,000 after buying an additional 219,719 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Mercury General during the third quarter valued at about $4,234,000. 42.39% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.

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