Mercury General (NYSE:MCY) Hits New 52-Week High – Should You Buy?

Mercury General Co. (NYSE:MCY) shares hit a new 52-week high during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $67.18 and last traded at $66.97, with a volume of 40417 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $65.79.

Mercury General Stock Up 0.5 %

The stock has a fifty day moving average of $62.15 and a 200 day moving average of $57.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 0.31 and a quick ratio of 0.31. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.03 and a beta of 0.81.

Mercury General (NYSE:MCY) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The insurance provider reported $1.09 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.80 by $0.29. Mercury General had a return on equity of 14.91% and a net margin of 6.36%. The company had revenue of $1.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.33 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted ($0.47) EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Mercury General Co. will post 4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mercury General Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 26th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, September 12th were paid a dividend of $0.3175 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, September 12th. This represents a $1.27 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.92%. Mercury General’s payout ratio is currently 32.65%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Mercury General

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Quadrature Capital Ltd grew its stake in shares of Mercury General by 20.8% during the 4th quarter. Quadrature Capital Ltd now owns 9,710 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $362,000 after acquiring an additional 1,670 shares during the period. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Mercury General in the first quarter valued at approximately $259,000. Capital CS Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Mercury General during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $681,000. Range Financial Group LLC bought a new position in Mercury General in the 1st quarter worth approximately $666,000. Finally, Counterpoint Mutual Funds LLC bought a new position in Mercury General in the 1st quarter worth approximately $533,000. 42.39% of the stock is 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.