MGIC Investment (NYSE:MTG) Stock Falls 5% – Should You Sell?

Shares of MGIC Investment Corporation (NYSE:MTG) fell 5% on Wednesday. The company traded as low as $26.80 and last traded at $26.83. 1,022,608 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 49% from the average daily volume of 2,010,783 shares. The stock had previously closed at $28.25.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MTG has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of MGIC Investment from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (a-)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 19th. Roth Capital reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $35.00 target price on shares of MGIC Investment in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. BTIG Research assumed coverage on shares of MGIC Investment in a research note on Tuesday, September 22nd. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. Zacks Research raised shares of MGIC Investment from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 25th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective 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, July 31st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has issued a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $30.60.

MGIC Investment Stock Down 6.3%

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 firm’s 50 day moving average price is $30.34 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $28.08. The firm has a market cap of $5.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.26, a P/E/G ratio of 0.72 and a beta of 0.65.

MGIC Investment (NYSE:MTG) last issued 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 firm had revenue of $295.39 million for 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 for the quarter was down 2.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.82 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that MGIC Investment Corporation will post 3.24 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MGIC Investment Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 20th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 5th were issued a $0.17 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, August 5th. This is an increase from MGIC Investment’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. This represents a $0.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.6%. MGIC Investment’s dividend payout ratio is presently 21.25%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, COO Salvatore A. Miosi sold 30,000 shares of MGIC Investment stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $30.73, for a total value of $921,900.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 470,951 shares in the company, valued at $14,472,324.23. This trade represents a 5.99% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing 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 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $30.30, for a total transaction of $606,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 149,620 shares in the company, valued at $4,533,486. This represents a 11.79% 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

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of MGIC Investment in the 2nd quarter worth $618,467,000. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of 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 worth $163,368,000 after acquiring an additional 146,589 shares during the period. Allianz Asset Management GmbH raised its holdings in MGIC Investment by 1.0% during the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec acquired a new stake in MGIC Investment in the second quarter valued at about $98,074,000. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new stake in MGIC Investment in the fourth quarter valued at about $96,248,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.58% of the company’s stock.

MGIC Investment Company Profile

MGIC Investment Corporation is a holding company whose principal subsidiary, Mortgage Guaranty Insurance Corporation (MGIC), provides private mortgage insurance in the United States. Its insurance helps lenders manage credit risk on residential mortgage loans, particularly loans made to borrowers who provide down payments below traditional thresholds.

MGIC’s products are primarily designed for lenders and other mortgage-finance participants, including primary mortgage insurance covering individual residential loans.