Mercury General (NYSE:MCY) Shares Pass Above 200-Day Moving Average – Time to Sell?

Shares of Mercury General Corporation (NYSE:MCY) crossed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Monday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of $83.84 and traded as high as $95.61. Mercury General shares last traded at $92.4150, with a volume of 230,226 shares.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Mercury General from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 9th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Mercury General in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has issued a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $100.00.

Mercury General Trading Down 2.9%

The company has a current ratio of 0.45, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. The company has a market cap of $5.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.65 and a beta of 0.94. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $90.99 and a 200 day moving average price of $83.84.

Institutional Trading of Mercury General

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of Mercury General by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,079,735 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $176,311,000 after buying an additional 9,278 shares during the last quarter. Rubric Capital Management LP grew its position in shares of Mercury General by 12.8% during the 2nd quarter. Rubric Capital Management LP now owns 2,054,504 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $138,350,000 after buying an additional 232,721 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Mercury General by 1.9% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 666,783 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $44,907,000 after acquiring an additional 12,728 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. raised its stake in Mercury General by 22.9% during the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 578,671 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $49,060,000 after acquiring an additional 107,766 shares during the period. Finally, Westwood Holdings Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Mercury General by 14.0% in the second quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. now owns 560,670 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $37,756,000 after acquiring an additional 68,983 shares during the last quarter. 42.39% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Mercury General

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.