Mercury General (NYSE:MCY) Sees Strong Trading Volume – Time to Buy?

Mercury General Co. (NYSE:MCY) shares saw unusually-high trading volume on Wednesday . Approximately 117,843 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 43% from the previous session’s volume of 207,401 shares.The stock last traded at $60.31 and had previously closed at $64.89.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Mercury General from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 26th.

Mercury General Price Performance

The company has a 50-day moving average of $71.90 and a 200-day moving average of $64.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 0.33 and a current ratio of 0.33. The stock has a market cap of $3.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.98 and a beta of 0.87.

Mercury General (NYSE:MCY) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The insurance provider reported $2.54 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.15 by $1.39. Mercury General had a return on equity of 18.04% and a net margin of 10.18%. The business had revenue of $1.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.37 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.14 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Mercury General Co. will post 6.35 earnings per share for the current year.

Mercury General Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 26th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 12th were given a dividend of $0.317 per share. This represents a $1.27 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.10%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, December 12th. Mercury General’s payout ratio is 12.59%.

Insider Activity

In other Mercury General news, VP Heidi C. Sullivan sold 1,076 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.28, for a total transaction of $83,153.28. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 35.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Mercury General

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. TD Asset Management Inc acquired a new stake in Mercury General in the 2nd quarter valued at about $515,000. National Bank of Canada FI purchased a new position in shares of Mercury General during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $32,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Mercury General by 49.7% during the 2nd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 12,019 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $639,000 after purchasing an additional 3,989 shares during the last quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Mercury General by 152.2% in the 2nd quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 12,663 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $673,000 after buying an additional 7,641 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Texas Permanent School Fund Corp grew its holdings in Mercury General by 32.8% during the 2nd quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp now owns 30,884 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,641,000 after buying an additional 7,623 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 42.39% of the company’s stock.

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.