USX

Mercury General Auto Insurer Chairman Puts the Petal to the Metal

by

 Mercury General Chairman George Joseph buys $9.2 Million more of this California property and casualty insurer.  MCY  with a current 6.4% dividend yield and a 34 year history of consecutive dividend raises, looks particularly tempting.  It’s off 44% from its high and the Chairman of the Board has bought $24 million worth of the company’s stock in the last 10 days. People are driving less, auto claims are down. The potential loss of reinvestment income due to lower bond rates seems overstated by this drop in price. Besides Mercury has been historically a  relatively bigger player in the equity markets, … Read more

Coty Insiders Get Serious Again- How Long can it Remain Public?

by

It’s only going to get duller from here as we head into 3rd quarter earnings season blackout. With the trade war on hold until October and most insiders blacked out from buying pre-earnings release, there won’t be much to be learned from the insiders’ tea leaves. After the most buying all year, the market responded by rallying sharply. Now insiders have retreated with few exceptions.  They are Coty, the giant cosmetics company controlled by European investment firm JAB Ltd. Coty has struggled with weak sales and executive turnover. On July 19th, the company said it will restructure its operations and … Read more