KLCM Advisors Inc. Grows Holdings in MGIC Investment Corporation (NYSE:MTG)

Key Points

• KLCM Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in MGIC Investment Corporation by 45.8% in the first quarter, resulting in a total of 112,880 shares valued at approximately $2.80 million.
• MGIC Investment announced a $750 million share repurchase program, indicating a belief by the company's leadership that its stock is undervalued.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend increase from $0.13 to $0.15 per share, reflecting a 2.2% yield and a payout ratio of 19.67%.

KLCM Advisors Inc. grew its stake in MGIC Investment Corporation (NYSE:MTG - Free Report) by 45.8% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 112,880 shares of the insurance provider's stock after buying an additional 35,433 shares during the period. KLCM Advisors Inc.'s holdings in MGIC Investment were worth $2,797,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. purchased a new position in shares of MGIC Investment during the first quarter worth $33,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of MGIC Investment by 7,837.0% during the first quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,143 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $53,000 after purchasing an additional 2,116 shares during the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC raised its holdings in shares of MGIC Investment by 619.2% during the first quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 2,280 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $56,000 after purchasing an additional 1,963 shares during the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. raised its holdings in shares of MGIC Investment by 61.3% during the first quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 2,660 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $66,000 after purchasing an additional 1,011 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp raised its holdings in shares of MGIC Investment by 20.1% during the first quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 2,749 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $68,000 after purchasing an additional 461 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.58% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently issued reports on MTG shares. Barclays raised their target price on shares of MGIC Investment from $26.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Compass Point reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $28.00 target price (up previously from $27.00) on shares of MGIC Investment in a report on Friday, May 23rd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on shares of MGIC Investment from $26.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Monday, July 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and five have given a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $26.67.

Insider Transactions at MGIC Investment

In other news, EVP Paula C. Maggio sold 20,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.49, for a total transaction of $529,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 157,395 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,169,393.55. The trade was a 11.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, COO Salvatore A. Miosi sold 30,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.22, for a total transaction of $786,600.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 249,401 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,539,294.22. This represents a 10.74% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 189,203 shares of company stock valued at $5,010,848 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 1.05% of the company's stock.

MGIC Investment Stock Performance

MTG traded down $0.34 on Friday, reaching $27.52. The stock had a trading volume of 1,743,980 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,170,613. MGIC Investment Corporation has a 12-month low of $21.94 and a 12-month high of $28.67. The company has a current ratio of 1.46, a quick ratio of 1.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. The business's 50-day moving average price is $26.68 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $25.43. The company has a market cap of $6.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.02 and a beta of 0.90.

MGIC Investment (NYSE:MTG - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The insurance provider reported $0.82 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.70 by $0.12. MGIC Investment had a net margin of 62.58% and a return on equity of 14.73%. The company had revenue of $304.25 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $306.25 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.77 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down .3% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that MGIC Investment Corporation will post 2.71 earnings per share for the current year.

MGIC Investment Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 21st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 7th will be paid a dividend of $0.15 per share. This is an increase from MGIC Investment's previous quarterly dividend of $0.13. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 7th. MGIC Investment's dividend payout ratio is presently 19.67%.

MGIC Investment announced that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Thursday, April 24th that authorizes the company to buyback $750.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the insurance provider to reacquire up to 12.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually a sign that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

About MGIC Investment

MGIC Investment Corporation, through its subsidiaries, provides private mortgage insurance, other mortgage credit risk management solutions, and ancillary services to lenders and government sponsored entities in the United States, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and Guam. The company offers primary mortgage insurance that provides mortgage default protection on individual loans, as well as covers unpaid loan principal, delinquent interest, and various expenses associated with the default and subsequent foreclosure.