MGIC Investment Corporation (NYSE:MTG) Given Average Rating of "Reduce" by Brokerages

Key Points

• MGIC Investment Corporation has received a consensus rating of "Reduce" from analysts, with one sell recommendation and five holds, along with an average price target of $26.67.
• The company recently reported earnings of $0.82 per share, exceeding estimates, but experienced a slight 0.3% decline in revenue compared to the previous year.
• MGIC Investment has increased its quarterly dividend from $0.13 to $0.15, yielding 2.1%, reflecting a payout ratio of 19.67%.

MGIC Investment Corporation (NYSE:MTG - Get Free Report) has been given a consensus rating of "Reduce" by the six analysts that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation and five have assigned a hold recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price objective among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $26.6667.

Several analysts recently commented on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on shares of MGIC Investment from $26.00 to $27.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Monday, July 7th. Compass Point reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $28.00 price target (up from $27.00) on shares of MGIC Investment in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. Finally, Barclays upped their price target on shares of MGIC Investment from $26.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Timothy J. Mattke sold 139,203 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.54, for a total transaction of $3,694,447.62. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,100,994 shares in the company, valued at $29,220,380.76. This represents a 11.22% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, COO Salvatore A. Miosi sold 30,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 approximately $6,539,294.22. This trade represents a 10.74% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.05% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On MGIC Investment

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Captrust Financial Advisors bought a new stake in MGIC Investment in the fourth quarter worth about $230,000. Cetera Investment Advisers grew its stake in shares of MGIC Investment by 6.0% in the 4th quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 13,904 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $330,000 after buying an additional 792 shares in the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG grew its stake in shares of MGIC Investment by 138.7% in the 4th quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 86,530 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $2,052,000 after buying an additional 50,272 shares in the last quarter. Focus Partners Wealth acquired a new stake in MGIC Investment in the 4th quarter worth approximately $254,000. Finally, Lazard Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in MGIC Investment by 28.3% in the 4th quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 66,430 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $1,574,000 after purchasing an additional 14,651 shares during the last quarter. 95.58% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

MGIC Investment Stock Performance

MTG stock traded down $0.19 on Tuesday, hitting $28.31. The company's stock had a trading volume of 10,257,894 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,166,583. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $27.06 and a two-hundred day moving average of $25.96. MGIC Investment has a 1 year low of $21.94 and a 1 year high of $29.01. The stock has a market cap of $6.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.02 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a current ratio of 1.46, a quick ratio of 1.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13.

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

MGIC Investment Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 21st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 7th were issued a $0.15 dividend. This is a positive change from MGIC Investment's previous quarterly dividend of $0.13. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 7th. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.1%. MGIC Investment's payout ratio is currently 19.67%.

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.