Published on 7 Dec 2023 on Simply Wall St. via Yahoo Finance

Why It Might Not Make Sense To Buy Mercury General Corporation (NYSE:MCY) For Its Upcoming Dividend

Mercury General Corporation (NYSE:MCY) stock is about to trade ex-dividend in 4 days. The ex-dividend date occurs one day before the record date which is the day on which shareholders need to be on the company's books in order to receive a dividend. The ex-dividend date is an important date to be aware of as any purchase of the stock made on or after this date might mean a late settlement that doesn't show on the record date. Thus, you can purchase Mercury General's shares before the 13th of December in order to receive the dividend, which the company will pay on the 28th of December.

The company's upcoming dividend is US$0.32 a share, following on from the last 12 months, when the company distributed a total of US$1.27 per share to shareholders. Last year's total dividend payments show that Mercury General has a trailing yield of 3.2% on the current share price of $39.1. We love seeing companies pay a dividend, but it's also important to be sure that laying the golden eggs isn't going to kill our golden goose! So we need to investigate whether Mercury General can afford its dividend, and if the dividend could grow.

Check out our latest analysis for Mercury General