Wall Street Zen Downgrades MBIA (NYSE:MBI) to Sell

MBIA (NYSE:MBI) was downgraded by investment analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note issued on Saturday.

A number of other research firms have also recently commented on MBI. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of MBIA in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on MBIA from $8.00 to $8.50 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 19th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $8.50.

MBIA Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MBI opened at $6.59 on Friday. MBIA has a 1-year low of $3.86 and a 1-year high of $8.26. The business’s 50 day moving average is $6.60 and its two-hundred day moving average is $7.10. The stock has a market capitalization of $332.86 million, a P/E ratio of -1.84 and a beta of 1.87.

MBIA (NYSE:MBI) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 26th. The insurance provider reported ($0.24) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.05) by ($0.19). The firm had revenue of $28.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $26.50 million. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that MBIA will post -3.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of MBIA

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Kahn Brothers Group Inc. purchased a new position in MBIA during the third quarter valued at approximately $7,672,000. FineMark National Bank & Trust purchased a new stake in MBIA in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $217,000. Wolf Hill Capital Management LP grew its stake in shares of MBIA by 4.5% during the 4th quarter. Wolf Hill Capital Management LP now owns 2,560,708 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $18,335,000 after purchasing an additional 110,544 shares during the period. Seelaus Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of MBIA by 96.0% during the 4th quarter. Seelaus Asset Management LLC now owns 24,500 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $175,000 after purchasing an additional 12,000 shares during the period. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in shares of MBIA by 16.8% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 126,847 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $945,000 after purchasing an additional 18,233 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 60.95% of the company’s stock.

About MBIA

MBIA Inc is a financial guarantee insurance company specializing in credit enhancement and risk mitigation solutions for public finance and structured finance transactions. The company provides guaranty insurance for municipal bonds, asset-backed securities and other credit-sensitive obligations, protecting investors against the risk of payment default. Through its core insurance subsidiary, MBIA Insurance Corp., the firm offers financial guarantees, reinsurance support and customized credit solutions designed to improve the marketability and pricing of debt instruments.

Founded in 1973 as the Municipal Bond Insurance Association, MBIA built its reputation by insuring U.S.