Mercury General (NYSE:MCY) Shares Pass Above 200 Day Moving Average – Should You Sell?

Mercury General Corporation (NYSE:MCY)’s stock price crossed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Tuesday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of $87.29 and traded as high as $89.30. Mercury General shares last traded at $88.47, with a volume of 160,267 shares traded.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MCY has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Mercury General in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Wall Street Zen upgraded Mercury General from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 21st. Finally, Zacks Research raised Mercury General from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 26th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and one has given a Buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Strong Buy” and a consensus target price of $100.00.

Mercury General Stock Up 1.1%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a quick ratio of 0.42 and a current ratio of 0.42. The stock has a market cap of $4.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.06 and a beta of 0.92. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $89.58 and its 200-day simple moving average is $87.29.

Mercury General (NYSE:MCY) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 17th. The insurance provider reported $3.66 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.56 by $1.10. Mercury General had a net margin of 9.03% and a return on equity of 20.74%. The company had revenue of $1.54 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.37 billion. As a group, research analysts forecast that Mercury General Corporation will post -0.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mercury General Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 26th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 12th will be paid a dividend of $0.3175 per share. This represents a $1.27 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 12th. Mercury General’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 13.00%.

Institutional Trading of Mercury General

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of MCY. Allworth Financial LP grew its holdings in shares of 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. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in Mercury General by 19.2% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 752 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $71,000 after purchasing an additional 121 shares during the period. Merit Financial Group LLC lifted its position in Mercury General by 3.7% during the third quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 3,534 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $300,000 after purchasing an additional 127 shares during the period. Amalgamated Bank grew its stake in Mercury General by 1.9% during the third quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 7,726 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $655,000 after buying an additional 141 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in Mercury General by 3.0% during the second quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 5,233 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $352,000 after buying an additional 154 shares in the last quarter. 42.39% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Mercury General Company Profile

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.