MGIC Investment Corporation (NYSE:MTG) Stock Now Rated “Moderate Buy” by Sell-Side Analysts

MGIC Investment Corporation (NYSE:MTG) has been given an average rating of “Moderate Buy” by the eight ratings firms that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 1-year target price among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $30.60.

A number of analysts have weighed in on MTG shares. 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 raised their price objective on shares of MGIC Investment from $28.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. Weiss Ratings raised shares of MGIC Investment from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (a-)” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 19th. BTIG Research initiated coverage on shares of MGIC Investment in a report on Tuesday. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. Finally, Roth Capital restated a “buy” rating and issued a $35.00 price target on shares of MGIC Investment in a research report on Thursday, July 30th.

MGIC Investment Stock Down 2.0%

MTG stock opened at $28.73 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $30.39 and a 200-day moving average price of $28.04. MGIC Investment has a 12 month low of $24.69 and a 12 month high of $31.89. The company has a current ratio of 1.19, a quick ratio of 1.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.74 and a beta of 0.65.

MGIC Investment (NYSE:MTG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The insurance provider reported $0.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.76 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $295.39 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $297.54 million. MGIC Investment had a net margin of 59.20% and a return on equity of 13.90%. The firm’s revenue was down 2.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.82 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that MGIC Investment will post 3.24 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MGIC Investment Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 20th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 5th were issued a dividend of $0.17 per share. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, August 5th. This is a boost from MGIC Investment’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. MGIC Investment’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 21.25%.

Insider Transactions at MGIC Investment

In other news, EVP Paula C. Maggio sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $30.30, for a total value of $606,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 149,620 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,533,486. This represents a 11.79% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, COO Salvatore A. Miosi sold 30,000 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief operating officer owned 470,951 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,472,324.23. This trade represents a 5.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders own 1.34% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On MGIC Investment

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in MGIC Investment by 14.6% in the second quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 34,319 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $968,000 after acquiring an additional 4,381 shares in the last quarter. WINTON GROUP Ltd increased its holdings in shares of MGIC Investment by 317.3% during the second quarter. WINTON GROUP Ltd now owns 189,475 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $5,343,000 after acquiring an additional 144,073 shares in the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC raised 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 during the period. Baird Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of MGIC Investment by 3.1% in the 2nd 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 position in shares of MGIC Investment in the 2nd quarter worth $87,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.58% of the company’s stock.

About MGIC Investment

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.