Mercury General (NYSE:MCY) Shares Gap Down – Should You Sell?

Shares of Mercury General Corporation (NYSE:MCYGet Free Report) gapped down prior to trading on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $107.78, but opened at $105.01. Mercury General shares last traded at $103.0480, with a volume of 52,208 shares trading hands.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Mercury General from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, July 4th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Mercury General in a research note on Thursday, June 4th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of Mercury General from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 26th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and one has given a Buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Strong Buy” and an average target price of $100.00.

Get Our Latest Report on Mercury General

Mercury General Trading Down 2.0%

The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $102.84 and a 200-day simple moving average of $95.11. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.97 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 0.44 and a quick ratio of 0.44.

Mercury General (NYSE:MCYGet Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The insurance provider reported $3.50 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.15 by $1.35. Mercury General had a return on equity of 32.94% and a net margin of 13.68%.The company had revenue of $1.54 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.46 billion. As a group, equities analysts expect that Mercury General Corporation will post 11.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Mercury General Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 25th. Investors of record on Thursday, June 11th were paid a dividend of $0.3175 per share. This represents a $1.27 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, June 11th. Mercury General’s dividend payout ratio is presently 8.37%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Financial Management Professionals Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Mercury General during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in Mercury General in the 4th quarter valued at $38,000. Mcguire Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Mercury General in the 4th quarter worth $40,000. IFP Advisors Inc boosted its stake in Mercury General by 79.4% in the 4th quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 506 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $48,000 after purchasing an additional 224 shares during the period. Finally, Allworth Financial LP increased its holdings in Mercury General by 18.6% during the 3rd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 753 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $64,000 after purchasing an additional 118 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 42.39% of the company’s stock.

Mercury General Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

Mercury General Corporation is a holding company headquartered in Los Angeles, California, that underwrites and markets property and casualty insurance products through its principal subsidiary, Mercury Insurance Company. Established in 1961, the company has built a reputation for offering a broad range of personal and commercial lines, with a focus on automobile coverage. Mercury General operates in key U.S. markets, deploying a mix of independent agents and direct distribution channels to serve policyholders.

The company’s product portfolio includes personal automobile insurance, homeowners and renters policies, as well as commercial automobile, business liability and umbrella insurance.

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