Mercury General (NYSE:MCY) Shares Gap Up After Earnings Beat

Shares of Mercury General Co. (NYSE:MCY) gapped up prior to trading on Wednesday following a stronger than expected earnings report. The stock had previously closed at $50.09, but opened at $59.97. Mercury General shares last traded at $58.97, with a volume of 719,992 shares changing hands.

The insurance provider reported $2.78 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.94 by $0.84. Mercury General had a net margin of 10.18% and a return on equity of 18.04%.

Mercury General Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 27th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 13th will be given a $0.3175 dividend. This represents a $1.27 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.20%. This is a boost from Mercury General’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. Mercury General’s dividend payout ratio is presently 12.59%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on MCY shares. StockNews.com cut Mercury General from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 26th. Raymond James upgraded Mercury General from an “outperform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $70.00 to $80.00 in a report on Wednesday.

Insider Buying and Selling at Mercury General

In related news, VP Heidi C. Sullivan sold 1,076 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.28, for a total value of $83,153.28. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 35.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Mercury General

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Sanctuary Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Mercury General in the 2nd quarter valued at about $299,000. Handelsbanken Fonder AB acquired a new stake in Mercury General in the 3rd quarter worth about $205,000. CWM LLC grew its holdings in Mercury General by 115.8% in the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,215 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $77,000 after purchasing an additional 652 shares during the period. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC boosted its holdings in Mercury General by 99.9% in the third quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 27,187 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,712,000 after acquiring an additional 13,589 shares during the last quarter. Finally, nVerses Capital LLC grew its holdings in shares of Mercury General by 100.0% during the 3rd quarter. nVerses Capital LLC now owns 3,600 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $227,000 after purchasing an additional 1,800 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 42.39% of the company’s stock.

Mercury General Stock Up 15.5 %

The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $60.25 and its 200-day moving average price is $63.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 0.33 and a quick ratio of 0.33. The company has a market cap of $3.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.84 and a beta of 0.85.

About Mercury General

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.