MGIC Investment (NYSE:MTG) Upgraded to “Strong-Buy” at Zacks Research

Zacks Research upgraded shares of MGIC Investment (NYSE:MTG) from a hold rating to a strong-buy rating in a research report sent to investors on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

Other analysts have also issued research reports about the company. Barclays lowered their target price on MGIC Investment from $29.00 to $28.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 1st. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of MGIC Investment from $28.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Roth Capital reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $35.00 price objective on shares of MGIC Investment in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of MGIC Investment from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (a-)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 19th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on shares of MGIC Investment from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has assigned a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $30.60.

MGIC Investment Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MTG opened at $31.27 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 1.19 and a quick ratio of 1.19. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $29.31 and its 200-day simple moving average is $27.50. MGIC Investment has a 12 month low of $24.69 and a 12 month high of $31.89.

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

MGIC Investment Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 20th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 5th were given a dividend of $0.17 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, August 5th. This is a positive change from MGIC Investment’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.2%. MGIC Investment’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 21.25%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, COO Salvatore A. Miosi sold 30,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.38, for a total value of $761,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 560,951 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,236,936.38. The trade was a 5.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Paula C. Maggio sold 20,937 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.55, for a total value of $534,940.35. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 169,620 shares in the company, valued at $4,333,791. This represents a 10.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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. Over the last three months, insiders sold 70,937 shares of company stock valued at $1,902,340. Insiders own 1.34% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On MGIC Investment

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of MTG. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of MGIC Investment during the second quarter worth about $618,467,000. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of MGIC Investment by 31.3% in the fourth quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 11,616,282 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $339,428,000 after acquiring an additional 2,771,533 shares during the last quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System grew its stake in shares of MGIC Investment by 2,724.4% during the 2nd quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 7,744,171 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $218,386,000 after buying an additional 7,469,978 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in MGIC Investment by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,371,470 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $163,368,000 after acquiring an additional 146,589 shares during the period. Finally, Allianz Asset Management GmbH grew its holdings in shares of MGIC Investment by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 5,010,157 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $146,397,000 after purchasing an additional 48,064 shares during the period. 95.58% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.