Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Purchases Shares of 428,170 MGIC Investment Corporation $MTG

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in MGIC Investment Corporation (NYSE:MTG) in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm acquired 428,170 shares of the insurance provider’s stock, valued at approximately $12,074,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of MTG. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of MGIC Investment during the third quarter valued at approximately $28,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in MGIC Investment by 40.3% in the fourth 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 period. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. boosted its holdings in MGIC Investment by 88.0% in the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 1,745 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $43,000 after acquiring an additional 817 shares in the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in MGIC Investment in the second quarter valued at $62,000. Finally, Harbor Investment Advisory LLC increased its position in MGIC Investment by 613.0% during the 2nd quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC now owns 2,574 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $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.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Paula C. Maggio sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 7th. The stock was 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 owned 149,620 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,533,486. This trade represents a 11.79% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, COO Salvatore A. Miosi sold 30,000 shares of MGIC Investment 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 transaction, the chief operating officer owned 560,951 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,236,936.38. The trade was a 5.08% decrease in their position. 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.

MGIC Investment Stock Down 0.5%

Shares of MGIC Investment stock opened at $31.12 on Friday. 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 company has a 50-day moving average of $29.41 and a 200 day moving average of $27.52. The firm has a market cap of $6.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.73, a PEG ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 0.66. MGIC Investment Corporation has a 1 year low of $24.69 and a 1 year high of $31.89.

MGIC Investment (NYSE:MTG) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $297.54 million. MGIC Investment had a net margin of 59.20% and a return on equity of 13.90%. MGIC Investment’s quarterly revenue was down 2.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.82 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that MGIC Investment Corporation will post 3.24 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MGIC Investment Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 20th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 5th were issued a dividend of $0.17 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, August 5th. This is a positive change from MGIC Investment’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.2%. MGIC Investment’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 21.25%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have commented on MTG. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price objective on shares of MGIC Investment from $28.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on shares of MGIC Investment from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Zacks Research raised shares of MGIC Investment from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of MGIC Investment from $29.00 to $28.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised MGIC Investment from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (a-)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 19th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has given a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, MGIC Investment presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $30.60.

About MGIC Investment

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.