Keefe, Bruyette & Woods Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for MGIC Investment (NYSE:MTG) Stock

MGIC Investment (NYSE:MTG - Free Report) had its price target increased by Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $26.00 to $27.00 in a research note issued to investors on Monday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have a market perform rating on the insurance provider's stock.

Separately, Compass Point reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $28.00 price objective (up from $27.00) on shares of MGIC Investment in a report on Friday, May 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $26.88.

MGIC Investment Stock Down 2.6%

NYSE:MTG traded down $0.70 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $25.89. 3,844,355 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,874,028. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $26.74 and a 200 day moving average price of $25.03. The company has a current ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. MGIC Investment has a fifty-two week low of $21.81 and a fifty-two week high of $28.67. The firm has a market cap of $6.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.60, a PEG ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 0.89.

MGIC Investment (NYSE:MTG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The insurance provider reported $0.75 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.66 by $0.09. MGIC Investment had a net margin of 63.49% and a return on equity of 14.96%. The business had revenue of $306.23 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $306.66 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.65 EPS. MGIC Investment's revenue was up 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that MGIC Investment will post 2.71 earnings per share for the current year.

MGIC Investment Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 21st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 8th were issued a dividend of $0.13 per share. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.01%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 8th. MGIC Investment's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 17.28%.

MGIC Investment declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback plan 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 plans are typically a sign that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity at MGIC Investment

In other news, EVP Paula C. Maggio sold 20,000 shares of the company'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 transaction, the executive vice president owned 157,395 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,169,393.55. This represents a 11.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 1.05% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in shares of MGIC Investment by 4.8% during the first quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 16,162,180 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $400,499,000 after buying an additional 743,212 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP raised its position in MGIC Investment by 22.4% in the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 16,008,489 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $379,561,000 after purchasing an additional 2,928,595 shares in the last quarter. LSV Asset Management raised its position in MGIC Investment by 2.9% in the first quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 10,888,437 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $269,815,000 after purchasing an additional 310,095 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its position in MGIC Investment by 16.6% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,766,195 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $113,006,000 after purchasing an additional 677,227 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp raised its position in MGIC Investment by 6.5% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 4,524,277 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $107,271,000 after purchasing an additional 277,746 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.58% of the company's stock.

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.