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

Key Points

• Analysts are mostly neutral on MGIC Investment, with six brokerages giving the stock an average rating of “Hold.” The consensus 1-year price target is $28.25, slightly above the recent trading price.
• The company beat earnings expectations in its latest quarterly report, posting $0.76 EPS versus the $0.73 estimate. Revenue came in below forecasts, though net margin and return on equity remained strong.
• MGIC announced shareholder-friendly capital returns, including a new $750 million share repurchase program and a quarterly dividend of $0.15 per share. The dividend implies an annualized yield of 2.3%.

MGIC Investment Corporation (NYSE:MTG - Get Free Report) has received an average recommendation of "Hold" from the six brokerages that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and one has given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price target among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $28.25.

Several analysts have recently commented on MTG shares. UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of MGIC Investment from $29.50 to $28.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 12th. Royal Bank Of Canada began coverage on shares of MGIC Investment in a report on Friday. They issued a "sector perform" rating for the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on shares of MGIC Investment from $28.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Friday, April 10th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of MGIC Investment from a "buy (a-)" rating to a "buy (b+)" rating in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Finally, Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of MGIC Investment from $29.00 to $28.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 1st.

MGIC Investment Stock Performance

Shares of MTG stock opened at $26.16 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $26.77 and a 200-day moving average of $27.41. The company has a market cap of $5.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.30, a P/E/G ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 0.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 1.14 and a quick ratio of 1.14. MGIC Investment has a one year low of $24.77 and a one year high of $29.97.

MGIC Investment (NYSE:MTG - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The insurance provider reported $0.76 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.73 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $297.08 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $303.12 million. MGIC Investment had a net margin of 59.63% and a return on equity of 14.01%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.75 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that MGIC Investment will post 3.06 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MGIC Investment announced that its board has initiated a share repurchase program on Thursday, April 23rd that authorizes the company to buyback $750.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the insurance provider to reacquire up to 12.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually a sign that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

MGIC Investment Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 21st. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 6th were issued a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, May 6th. MGIC Investment's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 19.05%.

Insider Transactions at MGIC Investment

In other news, CEO Timothy J. Mattke sold 139,202 shares of MGIC Investment stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.49, for a total value of $3,687,460.98. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 1,118,005 shares in the company, valued at $29,615,952.45. This trade represents a 11.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, COO Salvatore A. Miosi sold 10,931 shares of MGIC Investment stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.25, for a total transaction of $286,938.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 590,951 shares of the company's stock, valued at $15,512,463.75. The trade was a 1.82% decrease in their position. 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. Company insiders own 1.34% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On MGIC Investment

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Alps Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of MGIC Investment by 60.6% in the third quarter. Alps Advisors Inc. now owns 701,943 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $19,914,000 after purchasing an additional 264,968 shares in the last quarter. Lingohr Asset Management GmbH grew its stake in MGIC Investment by 1,625.5% during the third quarter. Lingohr Asset Management GmbH now owns 233,534 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $6,625,000 after acquiring an additional 220,000 shares in the last quarter. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL grew its stake in MGIC Investment by 106.1% during the third quarter. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL now owns 687,445 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $19,503,000 after acquiring an additional 353,935 shares in the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans grew its stake in MGIC Investment by 17.8% during the third quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 472,083 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $13,393,000 after acquiring an additional 71,474 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Assetmark Inc. grew its stake in MGIC Investment by 1,208.1% during the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 1,674,152 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $47,496,000 after acquiring an additional 1,546,173 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.58% of the company's stock.

About MGIC Investment

MGIC Investment Corporation NYSE: MTG is a leading provider of private mortgage insurance in the United States. Established in 1957 as the nation's first private mortgage insurer, MGIC helps lenders manage credit risk and facilitates homeownership by protecting mortgage loans against default. Headquartered in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, the company operates through its principal subsidiary, Mortgage Guaranty Insurance Corporation, and maintains relationships with a broad network of originators and servicers nationwide.

The company's primary business activity involves issuing mortgage insurance policies that enable borrowers to purchase homes with down payments below traditional lending thresholds.

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.