Mercury General
Market Cap
US$2.7b
Last Updated
2020/01/23 23:48 UTC
Data Sources
Company Financials +
Executive Summary
Mercury General Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, engages in writing personal automobile insurance in the United States.
Rewards
Risk Analysis
Earnings are forecast to decline by an average of -25.3% per year for the next 3 years
Snowflake Analysis
6 star dividend payer with solid track record.
Similar Companies
Share Price & News
How has Mercury General's share price performed over time and what events caused price changes?
Latest Share Price and Events
Stable Share Price: MCY has not had significant price volatility in the past 3 months.
Market Performance
7 Day Return
-0.9%
MCY
-0.3%
US Insurance
-0.09%
US Market
1 Year Return
-9.2%
MCY
19.2%
US Insurance
23.9%
US Market
Return vs Industry: MCY underperformed the US Insurance industry which returned 20.4% over the past year.
Return vs Market: MCY underperformed the US Market which returned 24.7% over the past year.
Shareholder returns
| MCY | Industry | Market | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 7 Day | -0.9% | -0.3% | -0.09% |
| 30 Day | 0.4% | 1.6% | 3.1% |
| 90 Day | -9.6% | 5.4% | 10.4% |
| 1 Year | -4.8%-9.2% | 22.3%19.2% | 26.6%23.9% |
| 3 Year | -12.0%-23.6% | 34.2%23.8% | 50.9%41.2% |
| 5 Year | 4.2%-17.5% | 77.1%55.8% | 78.1%58.5% |
Price Volatility Vs. Market
How volatile is Mercury General's share price compared to the market and industry in the last 5 years?
Simply Wall St News
3 weeks ago | Simply Wall St
Should You Be Impressed By Mercury General Corporation's (NYSE:MCY) ROE?1 month ago | Simply Wall St
Mercury General Corporation (NYSE:MCY) Looks Like A Good Stock, And It's Going Ex-Dividend Soon2 months ago | Simply Wall St
How Much is Mercury General Corporation's (NYSE:MCY) CEO Getting Paid?Valuation
Is Mercury General undervalued compared to its fair value and its price relative to the market?
12.89x
Price to Earnings (PE) ratio
Share Price vs. Fair Value
Below Fair Value: MCY ($48.1) is trading above our estimate of fair value ($26.87)
Significantly Below Fair Value: MCY is trading above our estimate of fair value.
Price To Earnings Ratio
PE vs Industry: MCY is good value based on its PE Ratio (12.9x) compared to the Insurance industry average (16.4x).
PE vs Market: MCY is good value based on its PE Ratio (12.9x) compared to the US market (18.9x).
Price to Earnings Growth Ratio
PEG Ratio: MCY's earnings are forecast to decline next year, so we can't calculate its PEG ratio.
Price to Book Ratio
PB vs Industry: MCY is overvalued based on its PB Ratio (1.5x) compared to the US Insurance industry average (1.2x).
Next Steps
Future Growth
How is Mercury General forecast to perform in the next 1 to 3 years based on estimates from 3 analysts?
-21.9%
Forecasted annual earnings growth
Earnings and Revenue Growth Forecasts
Analyst Future Growth Forecasts
Earnings vs Savings Rate: MCY's earnings are forecast to decline over the next 3 years (-25.3% per year).
Earnings vs Market: MCY's earnings are forecast to decline over the next 3 years (-25.3% per year).
High Growth Earnings: MCY's earnings are forecast to decline over the next 3 years.
Revenue vs Market: MCY's revenue (4.2% per year) is forecast to grow slower than the US market (7.5% per year).
High Growth Revenue: MCY's revenue (4.2% per year) is forecast to grow slower than 20% per year.
Earnings per Share Growth Forecasts
Future Return on Equity
Future ROE: MCY's Return on Equity is forecast to be low in 3 years time (8.5%).
Next Steps
Past Performance
How has Mercury General performed over the past 5 years?
2.7%
Historical annual earnings growth
Earnings and Revenue History
Quality Earnings: MCY has high quality earnings.
Growing Profit Margin: MCY's current net profit margins (5.4%) are higher than last year (2.8%).
Past Earnings Growth Analysis
Earnings Trend: MCY's earnings have grown by 2.7% per year over the past 5 years.
Accelerating Growth: MCY's earnings growth over the past year (115.3%) exceeds its 5-year average (2.7% per year).
Earnings vs Industry: MCY earnings growth over the past year (115.3%) exceeded the Insurance industry -11.3%.
Return on Equity
High ROE: MCY's Return on Equity (11.5%) is considered low.
Return on Assets
Return on Capital Employed
Next Steps
Financial Health
How is Mercury General's financial position? (This company is analysed differently as a bank or financial institution)
Financial Position Analysis
Debt to Equity History and Analysis
Balance Sheet
Inventory Level: MCY has a low level of unsold assets or inventory.
Debt Coverage by Assets: MCY's debt is covered by short term assets (assets are 4.1x debt).
Financial Institutions Analysis
Asset Level: MCY's level of assets compared to its equity is low.
Allowance for Bad Loans: Insufficient data to determine if MCY has a sufficient allowance for bad loans.
Low Risk Liabilities: MCY reports no customer deposits, loans are made up entirely of externally borrowed funds.
Loan Level: Insufficient data to determine if MCY has an acceptable proportion of non-loan assets held.
Low Risk Deposits: MCY has advanced significantly more loans than the customer deposits it holds.
Level of Bad Loans: Insufficient data to determine if MCY has an appropriate level of bad loans.
Next Steps
Dividend
What is Mercury General's current dividend yield, its reliability and sustainability?
5.24%
Current Dividend Yield
Dividend Yield vs Market
Current dividend yield vs market & industry
Notable Dividend: MCY's dividend (5.24%) is higher than the bottom 25% of dividend payers in the US market (1.4%).
High Dividend: MCY's dividend (5.24%) is in the top 25% of dividend payers in the US market (3.66%)
Stability and Growth of Payments
Stable Dividend: MCY's dividends per share have been stable in the past 10 years.
Growing Dividend: MCY's dividend payments have increased over the past 10 years.
Current Payout to Shareholders
Dividend Coverage: With its reasonable payout ratio (67.3%), MCY's dividend payments are covered by earnings.
Future Payout to Shareholders
Future Dividend Coverage: MCY's dividends in 3 years are forecast to be covered by earnings (81.9% payout ratio).
Next Steps
Management
What is the CEO of Mercury General's salary, the management and board of directors tenure and is there insider trading?
12.0yrs
Average management tenure
CEO
Gabe Tirador (54yo)
13yrs
Tenure
US$1,530,049
Compensation
Mr. Gabriel Tirador, also known as Gabe, has been the President of California Automobile Insurance Company and Mercury General Corporation since October 2001 and has been its Chief Executive Officer since  ...
CEO Compensation Analysis
Compensation vs Market: Gabe's total compensation ($USD1.53M) is below average for companies of similar size in the US market ($USD4.99M).
Compensation vs Earnings: Gabe's compensation has been consistent with company performance over the past year.
Management Age and Tenure
12.0yrs
Average Tenure
53.5yo
Average Age
Experienced Management: MCY's management team is seasoned and experienced (12 years average tenure).
Board Age and Tenure
2.9yrs
Average Tenure
61yo
Average Age
Experienced Board: MCY's board of directors are not considered experienced ( 2.9 years average tenure), which suggests a new board.
Insider Trading
Insider Buying: MCY insiders have bought more shares than they have sold in the past 3 months.
Recent Insider Transactions
| Entity | Individual |
| Role | Member of the Board of Directors Independent Director |
| Shares | 250 |
| Max Price | US$48.95 |
| Entity | Individual |
| Role | Member of the Board of Directors Independent Director |
| Shares | 525 |
| Max Price | US$47.35 |
| Entity | Individual |
| Shares | 600 |
| Max Price | US$60.45 |
| Entity | Individual |
| Role | Member of the Board of Directors Independent Director |
| Shares | 500 |
| Max Price | US$50.86 |
Ownership Breakdown
Dilution of Shares: Shareholders have not been meaningfully diluted in the past year.
Management Team
Gabe Tirador (54yo)
President
- Tenure: 13yrs
- Compensation: US$1.53m
Judy Walters (72yo)
VP of Corporate Affairs & Secretary
- Tenure: 38yrs
Ted Stalick (56yo)
Senior VP & CFO
- Tenure: 18.3yrs
- Compensation: US$753.31k
Christopher Graves (53yo)
VP & Chief Investment Officer
- Tenure: 22yrs
- Compensation: US$718.82k
Brandt Minnich (52yo)
VP & Chief Marketing Officer
- Tenure: 11yrs
Heidi Sullivan (50yo)
VP & Chief Human Capital Officer
Randall Petro (55yo)
VP & Chief Claims Officer
- Tenure: 4.8yrs
Victor Joseph (32yo)
VP & Chief Underwriting Officer
- Tenure: 2.5yrs
Erik Thompson (50yo)
Vice President of Advertising & Public Relations
- Tenure: 2.3yrs
Abby Hosseini (59yo)
Chief Information Officer & VP
Board Members
George Joseph (97yo)
Chairman of the Board
- Tenure: 59yrs
- Compensation: US$1.21m
Gabe Tirador (54yo)
President
- Tenure: 13yrs
- Compensation: US$1.53m
Jim Ellis (72yo)
Independent Director
- Tenure: 5.9yrs
- Compensation: US$54.50k
Joshua Little (48yo)
Independent Director
- Tenure: 2.9yrs
- Compensation: US$69.00k
Martha Marcon (70yo)
Lead Independent Director
- Tenure: 2.7yrs
- Compensation: US$101.00k
Ramona Cappello (59yo)
Independent Director
- Tenure: 1.3yrs
- Compensation: US$12.00k
George Braunegg (61yo)
Independent Director
- Tenure: 1.3yrs
- Compensation: US$12.00k
Company Information
Mercury General Corporation's company bio, employee growth, exchange listings and data sources
Key Information
- Name: Mercury General Corporation
- Ticker: MCY
- Exchange: NYSE
- Founded: 1961
- Industry: Property and Casualty Insurance
- Sector: Insurance
- Market Cap: US$2.661b
- Shares outstanding: 55.35m
- Website: https://www.mercuryinsurance.com
Number of Employees
Location
- Mercury General Corporation
- 4484 Wilshire Boulevard
- Los Angeles
- California
- 90010
- United States
Listings
| Ticker | Exchange | Primary Security | Security Type | Country | Currency | Listed on |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MCY | NYSE (New York Stock Exchange) | Yes | Common Stock | US | USD | Nov 1985 |
| MCG | DB (Deutsche Boerse AG) | Yes | Common Stock | DE | EUR | Nov 1985 |
Biography
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, fire, and umbrella insurance. Its automobile insurance products cover collision, property damage, bodily injury, comprehensive, personal injury protection, underinsured and uninsured motorist, and other hazards; and homeowners’ insurance products cover dwelling, liability, personal property, fire, and other hazards. The company sells its policies through a network of independent agents, 100% owned insurance agents, and direct channels in Arizona, California, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, Oklahoma, Texas, and Virginia. Mercury General Corporation was founded in 1961 and is headquartered in Los Angeles, California.Â
Company Analysis and Financial Data Status
| Data | Last Updated (UTC time) |
|---|---|
| Company Analysis | 2020/01/23 23:48 |
| End of Day Share Price | 2020/01/23 00:00 |
| Earnings | 2019/09/30 |
| Annual Earnings | 2018/12/31 |
Unless specified all financial data is based on a yearly period but updated quarterly. This is known as Trailing Twelve Month (TTM) or Last Twelve Month (LTM) Data. Learn more here.