Mercury General (MCY) Competitors

CNA Financial (NYSE:CNA) and Mercury General (NYSE:MCY) are both finance companies, but which is the superior business? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their valuation, earnings, risk, analyst recommendations, dividends, media sentiment, institutional ownership and profitability.

Does the media favor CNA or MCY?

In the previous week, CNA Financial and CNA Financial both had 6 articles in the media. CNA Financial's average media sentiment score of 0.83 beat Mercury General's score of 0.40 indicating that CNA Financial is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
CNA Financial	3 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	3 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
Mercury General	1 Very Positive mention(s)	1 Positive mention(s)	3 Neutral mention(s)	1 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Neutral

Do analysts rate CNA or MCY?

CNA Financial presently has a consensus price target of $50.50, suggesting a potential upside of 5.76%. Mercury General has a consensus price target of $90.00, suggesting a potential upside of 19.78%. Given Mercury General's stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Mercury General is more favorable than CNA Financial.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
CNA Financial	1 Sell rating(s)	1 Hold rating(s)	0 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	1.50
Mercury General	0 Sell rating(s)	0 Hold rating(s)	0 Buy rating(s)	1 Strong Buy rating(s)	4.00

Which has preferable earnings & valuation, CNA or MCY?

CNA Financial has higher revenue and earnings than Mercury General. Mercury General is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than CNA Financial, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Company	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
CNA Financial	$14.27B	0.91	$959M	$3.21	14.88
Mercury General	$5.48B	0.76	$467.95M	$7.04	10.67

Which has more risk and volatility, CNA or MCY?

CNA Financial has a beta of 0.51, indicating that its share price is 49% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Mercury General has a beta of 0.96, indicating that its share price is 4% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Do institutionals & insiders have more ownership in CNA or MCY?

98.5% of CNA Financial shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 42.4% of Mercury General shares are held by institutional investors. 0.3% of CNA Financial shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 35.5% of Mercury General shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Is CNA or MCY a better dividend stock?

CNA Financial pays an annual dividend of $1.84 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.9%. Mercury General pays an annual dividend of $1.27 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.7%. CNA Financial pays out 57.3% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Mercury General pays out 18.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years. CNA Financial has raised its dividend for 9 consecutive years. CNA Financial is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Is CNA or MCY more profitable?

Mercury General has a net margin of 6.76% compared to CNA Financial's net margin of 5.99%. Mercury General's return on equity of 16.61% beat CNA Financial's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
CNA Financial	5.99%	11.85%	1.85%
Mercury General	6.76%	16.61%	3.65%

Summary

Mercury General beats CNA Financial on 10 of the 18 factors compared between the two stocks.