Magic Software Enterprises Ltd. (NASDAQ:MGIC) Sees Large Increase in Short Interest

Magic Software Enterprises Ltd. (NASDAQ:MGIC) was the target of a significant increase in short interest in the month of March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 192,000 shares, an increase of 113.3% from the February 28th total of 90,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 69,400 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.8 days. Currently, 1.0% of the company’s shares are short sold.

Magic Software Enterprises Stock Down 1.7 %

Shares of MGIC traded down $0.22 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $12.95. The stock had a trading volume of 34,460 shares, compared to its average volume of 56,458. Magic Software Enterprises has a 1-year low of $9.51 and a 1-year high of $14.24. The firm has a market capitalization of $635.83 million, a P/E ratio of 18.50 and a beta of 1.11. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $12.94 and a 200-day simple moving average of $12.08. 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 posted its earnings results on Tuesday, March 11th. The software maker reported $0.24 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.25 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $142.58 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $137.00 million. Magic Software Enterprises had a return on equity of 15.42% and a net margin of 6.49%. Sell-side analysts predict that Magic Software Enterprises will post 0.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Magic Software Enterprises Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 7th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 22nd will be issued a dividend of $0.327 per share. This represents a yield of 4.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 22nd. This is an increase from Magic Software Enterprises’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.24. Magic Software Enterprises’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 86.67%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Magic Software Enterprises

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of MGIC. IFP Advisors Inc raised its position in shares of Magic Software Enterprises by 100.0% in the fourth 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 period. Barclays PLC lifted its position in shares of Magic Software Enterprises by 4,274.4% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 5,818 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $69,000 after acquiring an additional 5,685 shares in the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio bought a new position in shares of Magic Software Enterprises in the third quarter worth $115,000. Altshuler Shaham Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Magic Software Enterprises in the fourth quarter valued at $138,000. Finally, Man Group plc bought a new stake in shares of Magic Software Enterprises during the fourth quarter valued at about $145,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 24.70% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on MGIC shares. StockNews.com raised Magic Software Enterprises from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. William Blair downgraded Magic Software Enterprises from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. Finally, Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Magic Software Enterprises from $15.00 to $16.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 13th.

Magic Software Enterprises Company Profile

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.