Mercury General Stock Beneish M Score

MCY Stock  USD 77.27  0.81  1.06%   
This module uses fundamental data of Mercury General to approximate the value of its Beneish M Score. Mercury General M Score tells investors if the company management is likely to be manipulating earnings. The score is calculated using eight financial indicators that are adjusted by a specific multiplier. Please note, the M Score is a probabilistic model and cannot detect companies that manipulate their earnings with 100% accuracy. Check out Mercury General Piotroski F Score and Mercury General Altman Z Score analysis.
For more information on how to buy Mercury Stock please use our How to Invest in Mercury General guide.
  
At this time, Mercury General's Short and Long Term Debt Total is fairly stable compared to the past year. Net Debt is likely to rise to about 64.5 M in 2024, whereas Long Term Debt is likely to drop slightly above 292.1 M in 2024. At this time, Mercury General's Earnings Yield is fairly stable compared to the past year.
At this time, it appears that Mercury General is an unlikely manipulator. The earnings manipulation may begin if Mercury General's top management creates an artificial sense of financial success, forcing the stock price to be traded at a high price-earnings multiple than it should be. In general, excessive earnings management by Mercury General executives may lead to removing some of the operating profits from subsequent periods to inflate earnings in the following periods. This way, the manipulation of Mercury General's earnings can lead to misrepresentations of actual financial condition, taking the otherwise loyal stakeholders on to the path of questionable ethical practices and plain fraud.
-3.01
Beneish M Score - Unlikely Manipulator
Elasticity of Receivables

1.27

Focus
Asset Quality

1.12

Focus
Expense Coverage

2.65

Focus
Gross Margin Strengs

1.09

Focus
Accruals Factor

2.65

Focus
Depreciation Resistance

0.83

Focus
Net Sales Growth

0.52

Focus
Financial Leverage Condition

1.21

Focus

Mercury General Beneish M-Score Indicator Trends

The cure to earnings manipulation is the transparency of financial reporting. It will typically remove the temptation of the top executives to inflate earnings (i.e., to promote the idea of 'winning at any cost'). Because a healthy internal audit department can enhance transparency, the board should promote the auditors' access to all the record-keeping systems across the enterprise. For example, if Mercury General's auditors report directly to the board (not management), the managers will be reluctant to manipulate simply due to the fear of punishment. On the other hand, the auditors will be free to investigate the ledgers properly because they know that the board has their back.
Current ValueLast YearChange From Last Year 10 Year Trend
Net Receivables394.5 M601.7 M
Way Down
Slightly volatile
Total Revenue2.4 B4.6 B
Way Down
Slightly volatile
Total Assets7.5 B7.1 B
Sufficiently Up
Slightly volatile
Total Current Assets691.6 M1.3 B
Way Down
Slightly volatile
Non Current Assets Total5.5 B5.3 B
Sufficiently Up
Slightly volatile
Property Plant Equipment159.6 M197.2 M
Significantly Down
Slightly volatile
Depreciation And Amortization75.9 M72.2 M
Sufficiently Up
Slightly volatile
Total Current Liabilities204.4 M175.2 M
Fairly Up
Pretty Stable
Non Current Liabilities Total5.8 B5.6 B
Sufficiently Up
Slightly volatile
Long Term Debt292.1 M573.7 M
Way Down
Slightly volatile
Total Cash From Operating Activities277.5 M453 M
Way Down
Slightly volatile
Short Term Investments243.3 M178.5 M
Significantly Up
Very volatile
Long Term Investments4.3 B5.2 B
Significantly Down
Slightly volatile
Gross Profit Margin1.020.9396
Significantly Up
Slightly volatile

Mercury General Beneish M-Score Driver Matrix

One of the toughest challenges investors face today is learning how to quickly synthesize historical financial statements and information provided by the company, SEC reporting, and various external parties in order to detect the potential manipulation of earnings. Understanding the correlation between Mercury General's different financial indicators related to revenue, expenses, operating profit, and net earnings helps investors identify and prioritize their investing strategies towards Mercury General in a much-optimized way. Analyzing correlations between earnings drivers directly associated with dollar figures is the most effective way to find Mercury General's degree of accounting gimmicks and manipulations.

About Mercury General Beneish M Score

M-Score is one of many grading techniques for value stocks. It was developed by Professor M. Daniel Beneish of the Kelley School of Business at Indiana University and published in 1999 under the paper titled The Detection of Earnings Manipulation. The Beneish score is a multi-factor model that utilizes financial identifiers to compile eight variables used to classify whether a company has manipulated its reported earnings. The variables are built from the officially filed financial statements to create a final score call 'M Score.' The score helps to identify companies that are likely to manipulate their profits if they show deteriorating gross margins, operating expenses, and leverage against growing revenue.

Other Operating Expenses

4.86 Billion

At this time, Mercury General's Other Operating Expenses is fairly stable compared to the past year.

Mercury General Earnings Manipulation Drivers

Although earnings manipulation is typically not the result of intentional misconduct by the c-level executives, it is still a widespread practice by the senior management of public companies such as Mercury General. It is usually done by a series of misrepresentations of various accounting rules and operating activities across multiple financial cycles. The best way to spot the manipulation is to examine the historical financial statement to find inconsistencies in earning reports to find trends in assets or liabilities that are not sustainable in the future.
201920202021202220232024 (projected)
Net Receivables697.8M648.3M688.4M658.5M601.7M394.5M
Total Revenue4.0B3.8B4.0B3.6B4.6B2.4B
Total Assets5.9B6.3B6.8B6.5B7.1B7.5B
Total Current Assets1.5B1.4B1.2B978.8M1.3B691.6M
Net Debt125.7M67.9M72.0M130.5M37.1M64.5M
Short Term Debt14.5M16.0M15.7M11.3M8.7M8.3M
Long Term Debt372.1M372.5M372.9M398.3M573.7M292.1M
Operating Income369.0M450.2M289.3M(354.6M)99.4M161.5M
Investments(278.8M)(340.4M)(335.5M)(316.4M)(305.8M)(290.5M)

Mercury General ESG Sustainability

Some studies have found that companies with high sustainability scores are getting higher valuations than competitors with lower social-engagement activities. While most ESG disclosures are voluntary and do not directly affect the long term financial condition, Mercury General's sustainability indicators can be used to identify proper investment strategies using environmental, social, and governance scores that are crucial to Mercury General's managers, analysts, and investors.
Environmental
Governance
Social

About Mercury General Fundamental Analysis

The Macroaxis Fundamental Analysis modules help investors analyze Mercury General's financials across various querterly and yearly statements, indicators and fundamental ratios. We help investors to determine the real value of Mercury General using virtually all public information available. We use both quantitative as well as qualitative analysis to arrive at the intrinsic value of Mercury General based on its fundamental data. In general, a quantitative approach, as applied to this company, focuses on analyzing financial statements comparatively, whereas a qaualitative method uses data that is important to a company's growth but cannot be measured and presented in a numerical way.
Please read more on our fundamental analysis page.

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Additional Tools for Mercury Stock Analysis

When running Mercury General's price analysis, check to measure Mercury General's market volatility, profitability, liquidity, solvency, efficiency, growth potential, financial leverage, and other vital indicators. We have many different tools that can be utilized to determine how healthy Mercury General is operating at the current time. Most of Mercury General's value examination focuses on studying past and present price action to predict the probability of Mercury General's future price movements. You can analyze the entity against its peers and the financial market as a whole to determine factors that move Mercury General's price. Additionally, you may evaluate how the addition of Mercury General to your portfolios can decrease your overall portfolio volatility.