Mercury General (NYSE:MCY) Raised to “Strong-Buy” at Raymond James

Mercury General (NYSE:MCY) was upgraded by Raymond James from an “outperform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note issued on Wednesday,Briefing.com Automated Import reports. The brokerage presently has a $80.00 target price on the insurance provider’s stock, up from their previous target price of $70.00. Raymond James’ price objective suggests a potential upside of 59.59% from the company’s previous close.

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

Mercury General Trading Down 1.1 %

Mercury General stock opened at $50.13 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $2.78 billion, a PE ratio of 4.97 and a beta of 0.85. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $60.25 and a 200 day moving average price of $63.84. Mercury General has a 52 week low of $39.56 and a 52 week high of $80.72. The company has a current ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 0.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31.

Mercury General (NYSE:MCY) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The insurance provider reported $2.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.94 by $0.84. Mercury General had a return on equity of 18.04% and a net margin of 10.18%. Equities research analysts predict that Mercury General will post 5.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Heidi C. Sullivan sold 1,076 shares of the firm’s 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 35.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Mercury General

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of MCY. Allworth Financial LP raised its holdings in shares of Mercury General by 1,190.5% during the 3rd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 542 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 500 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Mercury General by 145.1% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 554 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 328 shares during the period. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in Mercury General during the 4th quarter worth approximately $44,000. Millstone Evans Group LLC purchased a new stake in Mercury General during the 4th quarter worth approximately $60,000. Finally, Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in Mercury General during the 4th quarter worth approximately $68,000. 42.39% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.