Mercury General (NYSE:MCY) Stock Price Passes Above Two Hundred Day Moving Average – Here’s What Happened

Mercury General Corporation (NYSE:MCY)’s stock price passed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Wednesday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of $95.59 and traded as high as $104.97. Mercury General shares last traded at $102.6740, with a volume of 348,065 shares.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently issued reports on MCY shares. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Mercury General in a research note on Thursday, June 4th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Mercury General from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday, July 4th. Finally, Zacks Research cut Mercury General from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, July 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has given a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $100.00.

Mercury General Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a current ratio of 0.44. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $103.63 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $95.59. The stock has a market cap of $5.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.77 and a beta of 0.89.

Mercury General (NYSE:MCY) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The insurance provider reported $3.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 the consensus estimate of $1.46 billion. Analysts forecast that Mercury General Corporation will post 11.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Mercury General Announces Dividend

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Mercury General

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Baron Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Mercury General during the second quarter worth $230,000. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its holdings in Mercury General by 85.7% in the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 74,938 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $6,606,000 after purchasing an additional 34,586 shares during the period. California State Teachers Retirement System boosted its holdings in Mercury General by 29.4% in the 1st quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 33,853 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $2,984,000 after purchasing an additional 7,693 shares during the period. Royal Bank of Canada grew its position in Mercury General by 35.5% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 24,010 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $2,116,000 after purchasing an additional 6,292 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rubric Capital Management LP grew its position in Mercury General by 4.9% in the 1st quarter. Rubric Capital Management LP now owns 2,154,504 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $189,920,000 after purchasing an additional 100,000 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 42.39% of the company’s stock.

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.