MGIC Investment Corporation (NYSE:MTG) Given Consensus Rating of "Moderate Buy" by Analysts

Key Points

• Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus on MGIC Investment, with seven firms covering the stock and an average 12-month price target of $30.60.
• MGIC reported quarterly earnings of $0.87 per share, exceeding the $0.76 consensus estimate, while revenue declined 2.9% year over year to $295.39 million.
• The company increased its quarterly dividend from $0.15 to $0.17 per share, equivalent to an annualized $0.68 payout and a 2.3% yield; institutional investors own 95.58% of the stock.

MGIC Investment Corporation (NYSE:MTG - Get Free Report) has been assigned a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" from the seven ratings firms that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, one has assigned a buy recommendation and two have given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $30.60.

MTG has been the subject of several recent research reports. Zacks Research upgraded shares of MGIC Investment from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 25th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price target on shares of MGIC Investment from $28.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on MGIC Investment from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Weiss Ratings raised MGIC Investment from a "buy (b+)" rating to a "buy (a-)" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 19th. Finally, Roth Capital reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $35.00 target price on shares of MGIC Investment in a research report on Thursday, July 30th.

Insider Transactions at MGIC Investment

In related news, COO Salvatore Miosi sold 30,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.73, for a total transaction of $921,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 470,951 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,472,324.23. The trade was a 5.99% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Paula Maggio sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.30, for a total transaction of $606,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 149,620 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,533,486. This represents a 11.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 1.34% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of MGIC Investment

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of MGIC Investment by 14.6% in the second quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 34,319 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $968,000 after acquiring an additional 4,381 shares in the last quarter. WINTON GROUP Ltd boosted its stake in shares of MGIC Investment by 317.3% in the second quarter. WINTON GROUP Ltd now owns 189,475 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $5,343,000 after acquiring an additional 144,073 shares during the period. NewEdge Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of MGIC Investment by 126.3% during the second quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 319,592 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $9,012,000 after purchasing an additional 178,381 shares in the last quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. grew its position in shares of MGIC Investment by 3.1% during the second quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 13,092 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $369,000 after purchasing an additional 392 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nykredit A S bought a new stake in MGIC Investment during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $87,000. 95.58% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

MGIC Investment Stock Performance

Shares of MTG stock traded down $0.10 on Friday, reaching $29.57. The stock had a trading volume of 247,211 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,987,679. The stock has a market cap of $6.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 0.65. MGIC Investment has a 1 year low of $24.69 and a 1 year high of $31.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a quick ratio of 1.19 and a current ratio of 1.19. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $30.31 and a 200 day simple moving average of $27.95.

MGIC Investment (NYSE:MTG - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The insurance provider reported $0.87 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.76 by $0.11. MGIC Investment had a return on equity of 13.90% and a net margin of 59.20%.The company had revenue of $295.39 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $297.54 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.82 earnings per share. MGIC Investment's revenue was down 2.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that MGIC Investment will post 3.24 EPS for the current year.

MGIC Investment Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 20th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 5th were given a dividend of $0.17 per share. This represents a $0.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, August 5th. This is an increase from MGIC Investment's previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. MGIC Investment's payout ratio is presently 21.25%.

MGIC Investment Company Profile

MGIC Investment Corporation NYSE: MTG is a holding company whose principal subsidiary is Mortgage Guaranty Insurance Corporation (MGIC), a provider of private mortgage insurance in the United States. MGIC's insurance helps lenders manage the risk associated with residential mortgages made to borrowers who have limited down payments, allowing qualified homebuyers to obtain financing with less than 20% down.

MGIC primarily offers primary mortgage insurance to mortgage lenders, banks, credit unions and other residential lending institutions.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.