Mercury General (NYSE:MCY) Shares Gap Down - Time to Sell?

Mercury General Co. (NYSE:MCY - Get Free Report) shares gapped down before the market opened on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $50.26, but opened at $48.60. Mercury General shares last traded at $51.41, with a volume of 826,928 shares changing hands.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently weighed in on MCY. StockNews.com downgraded Mercury General from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Raymond James raised shares of Mercury General from an "outperform" rating to a "strong-buy" rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $70.00 to $80.00 in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th.

Mercury General Stock Down 0.9 %

The firm has a market cap of $2.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.12 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a current ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 0.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $53.97 and a 200-day moving average price of $61.67.

Mercury General (NYSE:MCY - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 11th. The insurance provider reported $2.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.94 by $0.84. Mercury General had a net margin of 8.55% and a return on equity of 22.54%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Mercury General Co. will post -0.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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Mercury General Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 27th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 13th were paid a $0.3175 dividend. This represents a $1.27 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.46%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 13th. This is a positive change from Mercury General's previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. Mercury General's payout ratio is 15.03%.

Institutional Trading of Mercury General

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Mercury General by 145.1% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 554 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 328 shares during the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in Mercury General during the 4th quarter worth $44,000. Sterling Capital Management LLC increased its position in Mercury General by 772.9% during the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 742 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $49,000 after buying an additional 657 shares in the last quarter. Millstone Evans Group LLC acquired a new stake in Mercury General in the fourth quarter worth about $60,000. Finally, Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in Mercury General in the 4th quarter worth approximately $68,000. 42.39% of the stock is currently 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.