Daily Stock Pick: Mercury General
A portfolio of stocks I've been building since September 3, 2019, named Volio, will eventually hold 52 dividend dogs. Volio is the fifth portfolio I've built (at a one dividend dog per-week pace) since 2014. Five portfolios = V for Volio!
Today I'm reviewing the fourth of five financial services sector stocks poised to join my Volio folio this week. One could be my forty-sixth pick for Volio!
That financial services sector includes twenty industries ranging from Asset Management to 8 kinds of Banks, Credit, Exchanges, 6 kinds of Insurance, Savings, and all such financial concerns.
My subject today is a property and casualty insurance firm named, Mercury General Corp. Its trading ticker is MCY. This is my first report on Eaton Vance Corp for this Volio portfolio.
Mercury General Corp is an insurance holding company operating in the property-casualty market, where it focuses on low-cost auto insurance for individuals, with operations in 13 U.S, states.
However, most of its business--about 75% of premiums--comes from California, where it was established by George Joseph, the current company chairman, and majority owner. Its insurance is distributed exclusively through independent agents.
The company was founded in 1961 and is headquartered in Los Angeles, California.
I use three key data points to gauge dividend equities or funds like Mercury General Corp:
(1) Price
(2) Dividends
(3) Returns
Those three basic keys best tell whether a company has made, is making, and will make money.
MCY Price
Mercury's price per share closed at $40.59 yesterday. A year ago their price was $63.43. Price fell $22.84 or nearly 22% last year.
Assuming Mercury's stock trades in the range of $30 to $50 this next year, its recent $40.59 price might rise by $1.41 to reach $42.00 by July 16, 2021.
MCY Dividends
Mercury's most recent declared quarterly dividend was $0.63, paid June 25th. That $0.63 Q dividend equates to $2.52 annually for a yield of 6.21% at yesterday's $40.59 share price.
MCY Gains?
Adding the $2.52 annual estimated dividend to my $1.41 optimistic estimate of Mercury General Corp price upside shows a $3.93 potential gross gain, per share, to be reduced by any costs to trade the shares.
If we put little over $1,000.00 today in Mercury General Corp we would buy 25 shares of MCY stock.
A $10 broker fee paid half at purchase and half at sale could cost us about $0.40 per share.
Subtract that $0.40 brokerage cost from my estimated $3.93 gross gain per share results in a net gain of $3.53 X 25 shares = $88.25 for an 8.80% net gain on a $1,014.75 Investment.
Thus, Mercury General Corp shows a possible 8.8% net gain including a 6.21% dividend yield. It could be more, it could be less.
The above speculation is based on past performance and supposition. Only time and money invested will tell if Mercury General Corp is worth it.
Disclaimer: This article is for informational and educational purposes only and should not be construed to constitute investment advice. Nothing contained herein shall constitute a solicitation, ...
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