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

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 traded.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, StockNews.com cut 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 firm has a market cap of $2.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 4.97 and a beta of 0.87. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $71.53 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $64.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 0.33 and a quick ratio of 0.33.

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

Mercury General Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 26th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, December 12th were given a $0.317 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, December 12th. This represents a $1.27 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.53%. Mercury General’s payout ratio is 12.59%.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Heidi C. Sullivan sold 1,076 shares of the 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 35.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Diversified Trust Co boosted its holdings in shares of Mercury General by 9.9% during the fourth quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 8,909 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $592,000 after acquiring an additional 801 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position 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 worth $1,139,000 after buying an additional 1,024 shares during the period. Tidal Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of Mercury General in the third quarter worth $325,000. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake 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 valued at $39,273,000 after purchasing an additional 15,264 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC lifted its stake in shares of Mercury General by 319.9% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 46,557 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $2,931,000 after acquiring an additional 35,470 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.