MGIC Investment Co. (NYSE:MTG) Short Interest Down 30.1% in March

MGIC Investment Co. (NYSE:MTG - Get Free Report) was the target of a significant drop in short interest in March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 8,020,000 shares, a drop of 30.1% from the March 15th total of 11,470,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 2,350,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.4 days. Approximately 3.4% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Compass Point restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $27.00 price objective (up previously from $24.00) on shares of MGIC Investment in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Barclays lifted 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 note on Wednesday, February 5th. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of MGIC Investment from $25.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price objective 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, MGIC Investment has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $26.50.

Insider Activity

In other MGIC Investment news, CAO Julie K. Sperber sold 4,600 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.55, for a total value 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.05% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of MGIC Investment

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its position in MGIC Investment by 6.5% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,621,838 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $41,836,000 after purchasing an additional 98,369 shares during the last quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management increased its holdings in MGIC Investment by 13.4% in the fourth quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 91,690 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $2,174,000 after buying an additional 10,864 shares during the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC raised its position in MGIC Investment by 33.5% during the fourth quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 40,398 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $958,000 after acquiring an additional 10,130 shares in the last quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in MGIC Investment by 311.0% in the fourth quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 66,493 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $1,575,000 after acquiring an additional 50,316 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC acquired a new stake in MGIC Investment in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,166,000. 95.58% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

MGIC Investment Stock Down 0.1 %

NYSE MTG traded down $0.02 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $24.18. 1,957,087 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,805,180. The company has a current ratio of 0.48, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. MGIC Investment has a fifty-two week low of $19.98 and a fifty-two week high of $26.56. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $23.87 and its 200-day simple moving average is $24.48. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.86 billion, a PE ratio of 8.34 and a beta of 0.93.

MGIC Investment (NYSE:MTG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 3rd. The insurance provider reported $0.72 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.65 by $0.07. MGIC Investment had a net margin of 63.18% and a return on equity of 14.86%. Sell-side analysts predict that MGIC Investment will post 2.71 EPS for the current year.

MGIC Investment Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 5th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were paid a $0.13 dividend. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.15%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 18th. MGIC Investment's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 17.93%.

MGIC Investment Company Profile

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.