Mercury General (NYSE:MCY) Shares Gap Down – Here’s What Happened

Mercury General Co. (NYSE:MCY) shares gapped down before the market opened on Friday . The stock had previously closed at $60.70, but opened at $48.77. Mercury General shares last traded at $50.40, with a volume of 1,363,252 shares.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Mercury General Trading Down 17.4 %

The company has a quick ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 0.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. The stock has a market cap of $2.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 4.97 and a beta of 0.87. The company’s fifty day moving average is $71.53 and its two-hundred day moving average is $64.45.

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

Mercury General Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 26th. Investors of record on Thursday, December 12th were issued a $0.317 dividend. This represents a $1.27 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.53%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, December 12th. Mercury General’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 12.59%.

Insider Activity at Mercury General

In other Mercury General news, VP Heidi C. Sullivan sold 1,076 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.28, for a total value of $83,153.28. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 35.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Mercury General

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in Mercury General by 132.3% during the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 27,917 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,758,000 after buying an additional 15,898 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Mercury General by 2.5% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 623,460 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $39,273,000 after buying an additional 15,264 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. raised its position in shares of Mercury General by 20.5% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 52,688 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $2,800,000 after buying an additional 8,976 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC lifted its stake in shares of Mercury General by 319.9% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 46,557 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $2,931,000 after buying an additional 35,470 shares during the period. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Mercury General by 6.3% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 17,312 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,139,000 after buying an additional 1,024 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.