February 27, 2025
Top 10 Stock Mercury General Hold Recommendation
How to read the ranks
For every stock, we judge its performance against its peers and rank it on a scale of 1 to 100. The higher the rank, the better the stock performs than its peers. And, we do this for six investment strategies:
Value - shows how good of a value the stock is. Green is "inexpensive"; red is "expensive".
Growth - shows a company's growth potential. Green is "high growth" expected; red is "tough times ahead".
Safety - relates to the amount of debt a company has. Green is low debt level; red is high debt level.
Combined Financial - this isn't an average of the first three ranks but rather a consolidated view across several financial indicators. Green = good; red = tread carefully.
(NEW) Sentiment - quantifies professional analyst ratings and holdings as well as market pulse. Green = positive sentiment; red = skepticism (Only available to Premium Subscribers).
(NEW) 360° View - the ultimate rating with all financial and non-financial indicators.
Snapshot: Mercury General – Top 10 Stock in Dow Jones U.S. Insurance Index
Mercury General is listed as a top 10 stock on February 27, 2025 in the market index D.J. US Insurance because of its high performance in at least one of the Obermatt investment strategies. While half the consolidated Obermatt Ranks are above-average, investor sentiment is negative and growth performance is below market average, both a sign for caution. Based on the Obermatt 360° View of 32 (32% performer), Obermatt assesses an overall hold recommendation for Mercury General on February 27, 2025.
Snapshot: Obermatt Ranks
| Country | USA |
| Industry | Property & Casualty Insurance |
| Index | Dividends USA, D.J. US Insurance, S&P MIDCAP |
| Size class | X-Large |
When Obermatt identifies the Top 10 stocks in a market, it’s based on a certain investment strategy. The best performing stocks usually aren’t the ones that everyone is talking about (those are often "over-priced" and have low Value ranks).
For each investment strategy, we provide you with more detailed analysis and our recommendation. You see the ranks of the top 10 stocks ranked by that particular investment strategy (360° View, Sentiment, Value, Growth, Safety and Combined Financial Performance).
360° View: Obermatt 360° View Mercury General Hold
| 360 METRICS | February 27, 2025 | |||||||
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| VALUE | ||||||||
| VALUE | 69 |
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| GROWTH | ||||||||
| GROWTH | 33 |
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| SAFETY | ||||||||
| SAFETY | 98 |
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| SENTIMENT | ||||||||
| SENTIMENT | 22 |
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| 360° VIEW | ||||||||
| 360° VIEW | 32 |
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ANALYSIS: With an Obermatt 360° View of 32 (better than 32% compared with alternatives), overall professional sentiment and financial characteristics for the stock Mercury General are below the industry average. The 360° View is based on consolidating four consolidated indicators, with half the metrics below and half above average for Mercury General. The consolidated Value Rank has an attractive rank of 69, which means that the share price of Mercury General is on the lower side compared with the typical size in indicators such as revenues, profits, and invested capital. This means the stock price is lower than for 69% of alternative stocks in the same industry. The company is also safely financed with a Safety rank of 98. But the professional market sentiment is below average compared with other stock investment alternatives with a Sentiment Rank of 22. Professional investors are more confident in 78% other stocks. The consolidated Growth Rank also has a low rank of 33, which means that the company is below average in terms of growth momentum when looking at financial metrics such as revenue, profit, invested capital growth, and stock returns. 67 of its competitors have better growth. ...read more
RECOMMENDATION: With a consolidated 360° View of 32, Mercury General is worse than 68% of all alternative stock investment opportunities based on the Obermatt Method. The picture is mixed here. The stock seems to be a good value (Value Rank of 69), and the financing structure is on the safer side (Safety Rank of 98). However, sentiment in the professional investor community is below-average (Sentiment Rank of 22), as is the growth momentum for the company (Growth Rank of 33). Since the company is good value and the share price low, it should attract investors, yet professionals are skeptical. Even though the financing structure is not as important as Value, Growth, and Sentiment, investors should still be careful with this decision and conduct further research if they are serious about investing in this company. ...read more
Sentiment Strategy: Professional Market Sentiment for Mercury General negative
ANALYSIS: With an Obermatt Sentiment Rank of 22 (better than 22% compared with alternatives), overall professional sentiment and engagement for the stock Mercury General is critical, mostly below average. The Sentiment Rank is based on consolidating four sentiment indicators, with three out of four metrics below average for Mercury General. Analyst Opinions are at a rank of 95 (better than 95% of alternative investments), which means that, currently, stock research analysts tend to recommend a stock investment in the company. This is a good sign, were it not for Analyst Opinions Change with a low rank of 16, which means that currently, stock research experts are changing their opinions for the worse. In other words, they are getting more critical of a stock investment in Mercury General. The Professional Investors rank is also low at 28, meaning that professional investors hold less stock in this company than in 72% of alternative investment opportunities. Pros tend to invest in other companies. Even worse, Market Pulse has a low rank of 9, which means that the current professional news and professional social networks are critical of this company (more negative news than for 91% of competitors). ...read more
RECOMMENDATION: With a consolidated Sentiment Rank of 22 (less encouraging than 78% compared with investment alternatives), Mercury General has a reputation among professional investors that is far below that of its competitors. There are several negative sentiment signals, with only the Analyst Opinions Rank above average. This could be a stock with a long reputation for being positive but where things are worsening. Most analysts may not see it yet, but some have, and the professionals are already quite pessimistic. Proceed with caution when investing in this stock. ...read more
Value Strategy: Mercury General Stock Price Value better than average
ANALYSIS: With an Obermatt Value Rank of 69 (better than 69% compared with alternatives), Mercury General shares are more attractively priced than the majority of comparable stocks. The Value Rank is based on consolidating four value indicators, where three out of four indicators are above average for Mercury General. Price-to-Sales (P/S) is 89 which means that the stock price compared with what market professionals expect for future sales is lower than for 89% of comparable companies, indicating a good value for Mercury General's revenue size. The same is valid for the Price-to-Book Capital ratio (also referred to as market-to-book ratio) with a Price-to-Capital Rank of 65. Finally, compared with other companies in the same industry, dividend yields of Mercury General are expected to be higher than for 66% of all competitors (a Dividend Yield rank of 66). The only low rank is for expected profits with a Price-to-Profit Rank of 34, indicating that the market expects the company's profit to be low despite a high dividend. ...read more
RECOMMENDATION: The overall picture with a consolidated Value Rank of 69, is a buy recommendation based on Mercury General's stock price compared with the company's operational size and dividend yields. The low Profit Rank could result from a one-off charge, for instance, for an accident, a legal settlement, or a restructuring project. If the company keeps its dividends high, the low expected profit may be transitory. If that is the case, the three good value ranks for Sales, Capital, and Dividends are reliable indicators for good stock price value, a low stock price. ...read more
Growth Strategy: Mercury General Growth Momentum low
ANALYSIS: With an Obermatt Growth Rank of 33 (better than 33% compared with alternatives), Mercury General shows a below-average growth dynamic in its industry. There is limited momentum in this company. The Growth Rank is based on consolidating four value indicators, with half of the indicators below and half above average for Mercury General. Sales Growth has a rank of 67 which means that currently, professionals expect the company to grow more than 67% of its competitors. Capital Growth is also above 1% of competitors with a rank of 92. But Profit Growth only has a rank of 1, which means that currently professionals expect the company to grow its profits less than 99% of its competitors. And Stock Returns have also been below average with a rank of only 21. ...read more
RECOMMENDATION: The overall picture with a consolidated Growth Rank of 33, is a hold recommendation for growth and momentum investors. Profits are sometimes low if the company invests in the future. The positive revenue and capital investment outlook confirms such an interpretation. Both revenues and capital are solid growth indicators, and lower profits in such a case would be encouraging. But the investors see it differently by punishing the share price. Sometimes, Mister Market is not very reliable, because it is not uncommon for it to be volatile. Investors should look out for signs of growth expenditure that could justify low profit growth, and they may also find reasons why recent stock price developments don't confirm the growth outlook of operations. While operating growth indicators are not perfect, they are more reliable indicators for future performance than stock prices that can repeatedly surprise investors. ...read more
Safety Strategy: Mercury General Debt Financing Safety very solid
| SAFETY METRICS | February 27, 2025 | |||||||
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| LEVERAGE | ||||||||
| LEVERAGE | 62 |
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| REFINANCING | ||||||||
| REFINANCING | 8 |
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| LIQUIDITY | ||||||||
| LIQUIDITY | 87 |
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| CONSOLIDATED RANK: SAFETY | ||||||||
| CONSOLIDATED RANK: SAFETY | 98 |
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ANALYSIS: With an Obermatt Safety Rank of 98 (better than 98% compared with alternatives) for 2022, the company Mercury General has safe financing practices, which means that their overall debt burden is low. This doesn't mean that the business of Mercury General is safe, it only means that the company is on the safer side regarding possible bankruptcy, assuming that public reporting is correct. The Safety Rank is based on consolidating three financing indicators, with two out of three indicators above average for Mercury General. Leverage is at a rank of 62, meaning the company has a below-average debt-to-equity ratio. It has less debt than 62% of its competitors. Liquidity is also good at a rank of 87, meaning the company generates more profit to service its debt than 87% of its competitors. This indicates that the company is on the safer side when it comes to debt service. But Refinancing is lower at a rank of 8, which means that the portion of the debt that is about to be refinanced is above-average. It has more debt in the refinancing stage than 92% of its competitors. ...read more
RECOMMENDATION: With a consolidated Safety Rank of 98 (better than 98% compared with alternatives), Mercury General has a financing structure that is significantly safer than that of its competitors. The refinancing issues could be a short-term problem, especially if the company has reputation issues. Banks and investors don't like to refinance debt if there are clouds on the horizon. For this reason, investors should look at the refinancing environment for Mercury General. Does it look safe that debt that is coming due can be covered with new debt? If that is the case, then the financing situation of the company is on the safer side. If not, it may be better to wait until refinancing has been completed and the Refinancing rank is good again. ...read more
Combined financial peformance: Mercury General Above-Average Financial Performance
| COMBINED PERFORMANCE | February 27, 2025 | |||||||
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| VALUE | ||||||||
| VALUE | 69 |
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| GROWTH | ||||||||
| GROWTH | 33 |
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| SAFETY | ||||||||
| SAFETY | 87 |
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| COMBINED | ||||||||
| COMBINED | 50 |
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ANALYSIS: With an Obermatt Combined Rank of 50 (better than 50% compared with investment alternatives), Mercury General (Property & Casualty Insurance, USA) shares have above-average financial characteristics compared with similar stocks. Shares of Mercury General are a good value (attractively priced) with a consolidated Value Rank of 69 (better than 69% of alternatives), are safely financed (Safety Rank of 98, which means low debt burdens), but show below-average growth (Growth Rank of 33). ...read more
RECOMMENDATION: A Combined Rank of 50, is a buy recommendation based on Mercury General's financial characteristics. As the company Mercury General's key financial metrics exhibit good value (Obermatt Value Rank of 69) but low growth (Obermatt Growth Rank of 33) while being safely financed (Obermatt Safety Rank of 98), it may be a safer investment because companies with low debt can better withstand times of crises. Yet the good value, better than 69% of comparable companies, may also indicate that the company's future is challenging. If you believe that low growth is temporary or just due to a specific current event, you may conclude that the good value of the stock provides an attractive investment opportunity and the downside is limited due to below-average financing risks. ...read more
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