MGIC Investment Co. (NYSE:MTG) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” by Analysts

Shares of MGIC Investment Co. (NYSE:MTG) have received an average rating of “Hold” from the eight research firms that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, five have given a hold recommendation and two have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12-month target price among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $26.50.

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. UBS Group increased their price objective on MGIC Investment from $25.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Compass Point reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $27.00 price target (up previously from $24.00) on shares of MGIC Investment in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price target on MGIC Investment from $28.00 to $26.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective on shares of MGIC Investment from $25.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th.

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO Julie K. Sperber sold 4,600 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.55, for a total transaction of $112,930.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 75,070 shares in the company, valued at $1,842,968.50. This represents a 5.77% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 1.05% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On MGIC Investment

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MTG. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in shares of MGIC Investment by 4.8% during the first quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 16,162,180 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $400,499,000 after purchasing an additional 743,212 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP grew its position in shares of MGIC Investment by 22.4% in the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 16,008,489 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $379,561,000 after buying an additional 2,928,595 shares during the last quarter. LSV Asset Management grew its position in shares of MGIC Investment by 2.9% in the 1st quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 10,888,437 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $269,815,000 after buying an additional 310,095 shares during the last quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH increased its stake in shares of MGIC Investment by 8.2% during the fourth quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 5,495,115 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $130,289,000 after buying an additional 415,586 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of MGIC Investment by 16.6% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,766,195 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $113,006,000 after acquiring an additional 677,227 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 95.58% of the company’s stock.

MGIC Investment Stock Up 2.1%

Shares of NYSE MTG opened at $26.90 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 0.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. The company has a market cap of $6.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.28 and a beta of 0.91. MGIC Investment has a 52 week low of $20.11 and a 52 week high of $26.92. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $24.45 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $24.49.

MGIC Investment (NYSE:MTG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The insurance provider reported $0.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.66 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $306.23 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $306.66 million. MGIC Investment had a net margin of 63.18% and a return on equity of 14.86%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.65 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that MGIC Investment will post 2.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MGIC Investment declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback plan on Thursday, April 24th that authorizes the company to buyback $750.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the insurance provider to repurchase up to 12.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

MGIC Investment Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 21st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 8th will be paid a $0.13 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 8th. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.93%. MGIC Investment’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 17.28%.

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.