Magic Software Enterprises (NASDAQ:MGIC) Sees Unusually-High Trading Volume – Still a Buy?

Shares of Magic Software Enterprises Ltd. (NASDAQ:MGIC) saw unusually-high trading volume on Tuesday . Approximately 49,098 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 11% from the previous session’s volume of 55,456 shares.The stock last traded at $16.03 and had previously closed at $15.11.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on MGIC shares. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Magic Software Enterprises from $15.00 to $16.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 13th. Wall Street Zen cut Magic Software Enterprises from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday. Finally, William Blair downgraded Magic Software Enterprises from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 12th.

Magic Software Enterprises Price Performance

The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $13.82 and a 200-day simple moving average of $12.86. The firm has a market capitalization of $786.32 million, a PE ratio of 22.88 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 1.76 and a quick ratio of 1.76.

Magic Software Enterprises (NASDAQ:MGIC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 21st. The software maker reported $0.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.25. Magic Software Enterprises had a net margin of 6.49% and a return on equity of 15.42%. The firm had revenue of $147.34 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $143.80 million. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Magic Software Enterprises Ltd. will post 0.95 earnings per share for the current year.

Magic Software Enterprises Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 7th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 22nd were issued a dividend of $0.327 per share. This represents a yield of 4.6%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, April 22nd. This is a boost from Magic Software Enterprises’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.24. Magic Software Enterprises’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 85.53%.

Institutional Trading of Magic Software Enterprises

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. IFP Advisors Inc grew its holdings in Magic Software Enterprises by 100.0% during the 4th quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 4,000 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $48,000 after purchasing an additional 2,000 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Magic Software Enterprises by 4.7% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 58,105 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $699,000 after acquiring an additional 2,587 shares during the period. Lazard Asset Management LLC boosted its position in Magic Software Enterprises by 45.5% during the 4th quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 18,795 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $226,000 after acquiring an additional 5,878 shares in the last quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in Magic Software Enterprises by 16.9% in the first quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 56,751 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $737,000 after purchasing an additional 8,200 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Phoenix Financial Ltd. lifted its position in Magic Software Enterprises by 1.3% during the first quarter. Phoenix Financial Ltd. now owns 689,236 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $8,953,000 after acquiring an additional 9,000 shares during the last quarter. 24.70% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Magic Software Enterprises

Magic Software Enterprises Ltd. provides proprietary application development, vertical software solutions, business process integration, information technologies (IT) outsourcing software services, and cloud-based services in Israel and internationally. Its Software Services segment develops, markets, sells, and supports application platform, software applications, and business and process integration solutions and related services.