Mercury General (NYSE:MCY) Sets New 52-Week High – Time to Buy?

Mercury General Co. (NYSE:MCY)’s share price hit a new 52-week high during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $76.51 and last traded at $76.46, with a volume of 266381 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $73.73.

Mercury General Stock Up 3.8 %

The business has a fifty day moving average price of $66.52 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $60.50. The firm has a market cap of $4.24 billion, a PE ratio of 7.31 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 0.33 and a quick ratio of 0.33.

Mercury General (NYSE:MCY) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The insurance provider reported $2.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.15 by $1.39. The firm had revenue of $1.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.37 billion. Mercury General had a return on equity of 18.04% and a net margin of 10.18%. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.14 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Mercury General Co. will post 6.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mercury General Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 26th. Investors of record on Thursday, December 12th will be issued a $0.317 dividend. This represents a $1.27 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.66%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, December 12th. Mercury General’s dividend payout ratio is presently 12.59%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Mercury General

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Mercury General by 1.5% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,256,765 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $168,049,000 after purchasing an additional 48,508 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of Mercury General by 4.7% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,999,235 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $106,237,000 after buying an additional 88,954 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Mercury General by 2.5% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 623,460 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $39,273,000 after buying an additional 15,264 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its position in Mercury General by 3.8% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 310,333 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $16,491,000 after acquiring an additional 11,242 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Phase 2 Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Mercury General by 142.1% during the third quarter. Phase 2 Partners LLC now owns 273,955 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $17,254,000 after acquiring an additional 160,808 shares during the period. 42.39% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.