MGIC Investment (NYSE:MTG) Given New $32.00 Price Target at Royal Bank Of Canada

MGIC Investment (NYSE:MTG) had its target price hoisted by Royal Bank Of Canada from $28.00 to $32.00 in a research note released on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a sector perform rating on the insurance provider’s stock.

A number of other brokerages also recently issued reports on MTG. Barclays dropped their price target on MGIC Investment from $29.00 to $28.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Roth Capital restated a “buy” rating and issued a $35.00 price objective on shares of MGIC Investment in a research report on Thursday. 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 research note on Friday. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of MGIC Investment from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b+)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, MGIC Investment currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $30.60.

MGIC Investment Price Performance

NYSE:MTG opened at $30.04 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.39, a P/E/G ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 0.67. MGIC Investment has a 52-week low of $24.69 and a 52-week high of $31.89. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $27.42 and a 200 day moving average of $26.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.19.

MGIC Investment (NYSE:MTG) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The insurance provider reported $0.87 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.76 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $295.39 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $297.54 million. MGIC Investment had a return on equity of 13.90% and a net margin of 59.20%.The firm’s revenue was down 2.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.82 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that MGIC Investment will post 3.09 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MGIC Investment Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 20th. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 5th will be issued a dividend of $0.17 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 5th. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.3%. This is an increase from MGIC Investment’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. MGIC Investment’s payout ratio is 21.25%.

MGIC Investment declared that its board has approved a stock buyback plan on Thursday, April 23rd that allows the company to buyback $750.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the insurance provider to reacquire up to 12.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other MGIC Investment news, COO Salvatore A. Miosi sold 30,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.38, for a total value of $761,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, 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 document filed with the SEC, which is available at 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 business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.55, for a total transaction of $534,940.35. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 169,620 shares of the company’s stock, 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. 1.34% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of MGIC Investment in the 3rd quarter valued at about $28,000. V Square Quantitative Management LLC bought a new position in MGIC Investment during the 4th quarter worth approximately $36,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. grew its position in MGIC Investment by 40.3% during the 4th quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 1,461 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $43,000 after acquiring an additional 420 shares during the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. grew its position in MGIC Investment by 88.0% during the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 1,745 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $43,000 after acquiring an additional 817 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Harbor Investment Advisory LLC increased its stake in MGIC Investment by 613.0% in the 2nd quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC now owns 2,574 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $73,000 after purchasing an additional 2,213 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.58% of the company’s stock.

MGIC Investment Company Profile

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.