Mercury General (NYSE:MCY) Lowered to “Buy” Rating by StockNews.com

Mercury General (NYSE:MCY) was downgraded by equities researchers at StockNews.com from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report issued on Thursday.

Mercury General Price Performance

Shares of Mercury General stock traded up $0.47 on Thursday, reaching $78.85. 171,981 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 236,912. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $68.41 and its 200-day moving average is $61.24. Mercury General has a one year low of $36.37 and a one year high of $79.76. 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 firm has a market cap of $4.37 billion, a PE ratio of 7.81 and a beta of 0.81.

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Mercury General

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Mercury General by 1.5% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,256,765 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $168,049,000 after purchasing an additional 48,508 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in Mercury General by 132.3% in the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 27,917 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,758,000 after purchasing an additional 15,898 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its stake in Mercury General by 20.5% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 52,688 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $2,800,000 after purchasing an additional 8,976 shares during the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Mercury General by 1,753.0% in the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 2,168 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $137,000 after purchasing an additional 2,051 shares during the last quarter. Finally, TD Asset Management Inc bought a new position in Mercury General in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $515,000. Institutional investors own 42.39% of the company’s stock.

Mercury General Company Profile

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.