Short Interest in Mercury General Co. (NYSE:MCY) Rises By 29.5%

Mercury General Co. (NYSE:MCY - Get Free Report) saw a significant growth in short interest in December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,040,000 shares, a growth of 29.5% from the November 30th total of 803,000 shares. Approximately 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 currently 4.0 days.

Mercury General Stock Down 2.3 %

Shares of NYSE MCY traded down $1.60 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $66.98. The company had a trading volume of 182,225 shares, compared to its average volume of 241,113. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 0.33 and a current ratio of 0.33. Mercury General has a twelve month low of $36.96 and a twelve month high of $80.72. The stock's 50 day moving average is $72.08 and its 200-day moving average is $63.71. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.71 billion, a PE ratio of 6.64 and a beta of 0.84.

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

Mercury General Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 26th. Investors 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 1.89%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, December 12th. Mercury General's payout ratio is presently 12.59%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Mercury General from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday.

Insider Activity

In other Mercury General news, VP Heidi C. Sullivan sold 1,076 shares of Mercury General stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.28, for a total transaction of $83,153.28. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 35.50% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Mercury General

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MCY. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of Mercury General by 4.7% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,999,235 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $106,237,000 after acquiring an additional 88,954 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Mercury General by 2.5% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 623,460 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $39,273,000 after purchasing an additional 15,264 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its position in Mercury General by 3.8% during 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 purchasing an additional 11,242 shares during the period. Phase 2 Partners LLC grew its holdings in Mercury General by 142.1% during the third quarter. Phase 2 Partners LLC now owns 273,955 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $17,254,000 after purchasing an additional 160,808 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its position in shares of Mercury General by 607.5% in the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 214,427 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $13,505,000 after purchasing an additional 184,121 shares during the period. 42.39% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.