StockNews.com Downgrades Mercury General (NYSE:MCY) to Buy

Mercury General (NYSE:MCY) was downgraded by stock analysts at StockNews.com from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note issued on Friday.

Mercury General Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MCY opened at $51.66 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $2.86 billion, a PE ratio of 29.69 and a beta of 0.80. Mercury General has a fifty-two week low of $26.15 and a fifty-two week high of $57.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a current ratio of 0.30. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $50.41 and a 200-day moving average of $41.84.

Mercury General (NYSE:MCY) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 13th. The insurance provider reported $1.15 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.05 by $1.10. The company had revenue of $1.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.16 billion. Mercury General had a return on equity of 1.17% and a net margin of 2.08%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Mercury General will post 2.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Mercury General

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Diversified Trust Co boosted its stake in Mercury General by 4.9% during the first quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 7,832 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $404,000 after buying an additional 369 shares during the period. Teacher Retirement System of Texas boosted its stake in Mercury General by 5.9% during the third quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 7,487 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $210,000 after buying an additional 416 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank lifted its stake in Mercury General by 1.0% during the third quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 60,900 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,707,000 after purchasing an additional 600 shares during the last quarter. Inspire Investing LLC lifted its stake in Mercury General by 6.6% during the third quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 11,011 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $309,000 after purchasing an additional 681 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in Mercury General during the third quarter worth about $25,000. Institutional investors 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.