MGIC Investment Corp. (NYSE:MTG) has beaten the market’s earnings expectations with its second quarter financial results, posting earnings per share of $0.28. However, its quarterly revenues of $243.1 million were below the markets’ estimates. The market had an earnings estimate of $0.23 for the second quarter of fiscal 2015 over revenues of $247.16 million. It is important to note that the investment company did miss the revenue expectations in the second quarter fiscal 2014 as well, with revenues of $231.2 million against estimates of $237.1 million. It was an excellent quarter for MGIC Investment Corp. (NYSE:MTG) in terms of new insurance as the company wrote insurance worth $11.8 billion for the quarter against the prior year figure of $8.3 billion. The insurance firm reported growth of 5.9% in its net insurance in force at $168.8 billion at the end of the second quarter compared to the end of the second quarter one year prior.
Patrick Sinks, CEO of MGIC Investment Corp. (NYSE:MTG), said, “I am pleased to report that in the second quarter of 2015 the company continued to grow our insurance in force by adding another $11.8 billion of high quality new insurance.” He further added, ” The combination of profitable new business, the continued runoff of the older books, and a strengthened housing market, positions us well to provide credit enhancement solutions to our customers now and in the future.”
It has been a good year so far for MGIC Investment Corp. (NYSE:MTG)’s shareholders, as its shares have grown by 21.57% year-to-date, though shares have fallen by 1.66% in morning trading today following the results. The investment firm found a place in Barclays Americas Top Picks list under the financial sector earlier this year. Smart money however was slightly bearish towards the stock of the company during the first quarter, as 54 hedge fund investors held positions worth $1.78 billion against prior quarter investments of $1.77 billion made by 57 hedge fund managers. The marginal growth in aggregate holdings while the stock gained 14.64% during the first quarter indicates fund managers also collectively sold off shares.
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Despite bearish hedge fund sentiment, insiders at MGIC Investment Corp. (NYSE:MTG) were bullish on the stock and rightly so. Daniel Arrigoni, Director at MGIC Investment, purchased 10,000 shares of the company on March 10 at a price of $9.19 per share. The shares have appreciated by 23% since then.
With all of this in mind, we’re going to take a look at the key smart money action surrounding MGIC Investment Corp. (NYSE:MTG).
How are hedge funds trading MGIC Investment Corp. (NYSE:MTG)?
Heading into the second quarter, a total of 54 of the hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey held long positions in this stock, a drop of three investors from the previous quarter. With hedge funds’ sentiment swirling, there exists a few noteworthy hedge fund managers who were upping their stakes substantially.
According to hedge fund experts at Insider Monkey, John Griffin‘s Blue Ridge Capital had the biggest position in MGIC Investment Corp. (NYSE:MTG), worth close to $143.49 million from 14.90 million shares, amounting to 1.1% of its total 13F portfolio. The second-most bullish hedge fund managers are Doug Silverman and Alexander Klabin of Senator Investment Group, with a $138.76 million position of 14.41 million shares; the fund has 1.6% of its 13F portfolio invested in the stock. Other hedgies with similar optimism encompass Lee Ainslie‘s Maverick Capital, and John Paulson’s Paulson & Co.
Due to the fact that MGIC Investment Corp. (NYSE:MTG) has witnessed bearish sentiment from hedge fund managers, logic holds that there lies a certain “tier” of fund managers who sold off their positions entirely during the first quarter. It’s worth mentioning that John Khoury’s Long Pond Capital dropped the biggest stake of the more than 700 funds monitored by Insider Monkey, worth close to $35.2 million in stock. Louis Bacon’s fund, Moore Global Investments, also cut its stock, about $32.2 million worth. These transactions are important to note, as aggregate hedge fund interest was cut by three funds at the end of the first quarter.
With positive second quarter financial results and bullish outlook from insiders, we recommend a buy for the shares of MGIC Investment Corp. (NYSE:MTG).
Disclosure: None
