Short Interest in Magic Software Enterprises Ltd. (NASDAQ:MGIC) Declines By 68.2%

Magic Software Enterprises Ltd. (NASDAQ:MGIC) saw a significant drop in short interest in December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 41,100 shares, a drop of 68.2% from the November 30th total of 129,200 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 43,200 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.0 days. Currently, 0.2% of the company’s stock are sold short.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MGIC has been the topic of several analyst reports. StockNews.com raised shares of Magic Software Enterprises from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, December 22nd. Barclays raised their target price on Magic Software Enterprises from $14.00 to $15.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th.

Magic Software Enterprises Stock Performance

Shares of Magic Software Enterprises stock traded down $0.15 during trading on Friday, hitting $11.68. 17,962 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 54,670. The stock has a market cap of $573.48 million, a PE ratio of 16.69 and a beta of 1.09. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $11.61 and its 200 day moving average is $11.09. Magic Software Enterprises has a 12 month low of $9.38 and a 12 month high of $13.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a quick ratio of 1.76 and a current ratio of 1.76.

Magic Software Enterprises Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 23rd will be paid a dividend of $0.236 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 23rd. This represents a yield of 3.7%. This is an increase from Magic Software Enterprises’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.20. Magic Software Enterprises’s payout ratio is presently 67.14%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in shares of Magic Software Enterprises by 77.4% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 93,166 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $1,101,000 after buying an additional 40,642 shares in the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC raised its holdings in Magic Software Enterprises by 4.6% during the third quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 28,917 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $342,000 after purchasing an additional 1,278 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC lifted its position in Magic Software Enterprises by 4,274.4% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 5,818 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $69,000 after purchasing an additional 5,685 shares during the period. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio bought a new position in Magic Software Enterprises during the 3rd quarter valued at $115,000. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. acquired a new position in shares of Magic Software Enterprises during the 3rd quarter valued at $1,675,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 24.70% of the company’s stock.

About Magic Software Enterprises

Magic Software Enterprises Ltd. provides proprietary application development, vertical software solutions, business process integration, information technologies (IT) outsourcing software services, and cloud-based services in Israel and internationally. Its Software Services segment develops, markets, sells, and supports application platform, software applications, and business and process integration solutions and related services.