Mercury General Co. (NYSE:MCY) Short Interest Up 29.5% in December

Mercury General Co. (NYSE:MCY) saw a large increase in short interest during the month of December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,040,000 shares, an increase of 29.5% from the November 30th total of 803,000 shares. Currently, 3.9% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 261,300 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 4.0 days.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP Heidi C. Sullivan sold 1,076 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Insiders own 35.50% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Mercury General

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its stake in shares of Mercury General by 3.8% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 310,333 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $16,491,000 after acquiring an additional 11,242 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its holdings in shares of Mercury General by 272.6% during the 2nd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 28,811 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,531,000 after purchasing an additional 21,079 shares during the period. nVerses Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Mercury General during the 2nd quarter worth about $96,000. TD Asset Management Inc acquired a new position in shares of Mercury General during the second quarter valued at about $515,000. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI bought a new stake in shares of Mercury General in the second quarter valued at about $32,000. 42.39% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Mercury General Stock Performance

MCY traded down $0.13 on Tuesday, hitting $66.48. The company had a trading volume of 192,971 shares, compared to its average volume of 240,819. Mercury General has a 1-year low of $36.96 and a 1-year high of $80.72. 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’s fifty day moving average price is $72.09 and its 200 day moving average price is $63.90. The stock has a market cap of $3.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.59 and a beta of 0.84.

Mercury General (NYSE:MCY) last posted 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. The business had revenue of $1.53 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.37 billion. Mercury General had a net margin of 10.18% and a return on equity of 18.04%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.14 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Mercury General will post 6.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mercury General Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 26th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, December 12th were given a $0.317 dividend. This represents a $1.27 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.91%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, December 12th. Mercury General’s dividend payout ratio is currently 12.59%.

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.