Keefe, Bruyette & Woods Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for MGIC Investment (NYSE:MTG) Stock

MGIC Investment (NYSE:MTG) had its price objective upped by analysts at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $28.00 to $29.00 in a report issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a “market perform” rating on the insurance provider’s stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods’ price target would suggest a potential upside of 6.56% from the company’s previous close.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of MGIC Investment from $28.00 to $29.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, April 6th. UBS Group reduced their target price on MGIC Investment from $29.50 to $28.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 12th. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut MGIC Investment from a “buy (a-)” rating to a “buy (b+)” rating in a report on Thursday, February 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, MGIC Investment has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $28.50.

MGIC Investment Price Performance

MTG opened at $27.22 on Friday. MGIC Investment has a 1 year low of $22.95 and a 1 year high of $29.97. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $26.53 and its 200 day simple moving average is $27.46. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.85 billion, a PE ratio of 8.67, a P/E/G ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a quick ratio of 1.52 and a current ratio of 1.52.

MGIC Investment (NYSE:MTG) last released its earnings results on Monday, February 2nd. The insurance provider reported $0.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.73 by $0.02. MGIC Investment had a net margin of 60.84% and a return on equity of 14.33%. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.72 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was down .9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that MGIC Investment will post 2.71 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at MGIC Investment

In related news, EVP Paula C. Maggio sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.51, for a total value of $550,200.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 114,689 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,155,094.39. This trade represents a 14.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Timothy J. Mattke sold 139,203 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.51, for a total value of $3,690,271.53. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 822,588 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $21,806,807.88. This represents a 14.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 339,336 shares of company stock worth $9,032,971. Company insiders own 1.34% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of MGIC Investment

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in MGIC Investment by 31.3% in the 4th quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 11,616,282 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $339,428,000 after purchasing an additional 2,771,533 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in MGIC Investment by 2.8% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,371,470 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $163,368,000 after purchasing an additional 146,589 shares in the last quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH boosted its holdings in MGIC Investment by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 5,010,157 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $146,397,000 after acquiring an additional 48,064 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP boosted its holdings in MGIC Investment by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 4,609,318 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $134,684,000 after acquiring an additional 76,306 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in MGIC Investment by 10.7% in the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 4,561,398 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $129,407,000 after acquiring an additional 441,809 shares during the period. 95.58% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.