Mercury General Co. (NYSE:MCY) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

Mercury General Co. (NYSE:MCY) was the target of a large growth in short interest during the month of 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 shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 261,300 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 4.0 days.

Mercury General Price Performance

MCY stock opened at $66.61 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $72.08 and a 200 day moving average of $63.79. 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 has a market cap of $3.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.60 and a beta of 0.84. Mercury General has a 1 year low of $36.96 and a 1 year high of $80.72.

Mercury General (NYSE:MCY) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The insurance provider reported $2.54 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.15 by $1.39. The business had revenue of $1.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 last year, the business earned $1.14 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Mercury General will post 6.35 EPS for the current year.

Mercury General Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 26th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, December 12th were issued a dividend of $0.317 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, December 12th. This represents a $1.27 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.90%. Mercury General’s payout ratio is 12.59%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Heidi C. Sullivan sold 1,076 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 3rd. The shares were 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 available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 35.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Mercury General

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. National Bank of Canada FI purchased a new stake in shares of Mercury General during the 2nd quarter valued at about $32,000. Allworth Financial LP increased its holdings in Mercury General by 1,190.5% during the third 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 last quarter. Quarry LP raised its position in Mercury General by 112.0% in the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,215 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $65,000 after acquiring an additional 642 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Mercury General by 72.0% during the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,151 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $72,000 after acquiring an additional 482 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CWM LLC grew its position in shares of Mercury General by 115.8% during the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,215 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $77,000 after acquiring an additional 652 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 42.39% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

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.