MGIC Misses by a Penny

10/12/06 - 08:00 AM EDT

MTG

TSC Staff

MGIC Investment (MTG - Cramer's Take - Stockpickr) posted modest declines in third-quarter profit and revenue.

The Milwaukee-based mortgage company said it made $130 million, or $1.55 a share, down from the year-ago $142 million, or $1.55 a share. Revenue slipped to $369 million from $376 million a year earlier.

Analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial were looking for a $1.56-a-share profit on sales of $368 million.

The company said delinquencies rose as expected. At Sept. 30, the delinquency inventory was 76,301 and the percentage of loans that were delinquent, excluding bulk loans, was 3.99%, compared with 4.52% at Dec. 31 and 3.95% a year ago. Including bulk loans, the percentage of loans that were delinquent at Sept. 30 was 5.98%, compared to 6.58% at Dec. 31 and 5.95% a year ago.

Losses incurred in the third quarter were $165.0 million, up from $146.2 million reported for the same period last year due primarily to an increase in loss severity. Underwriting expenses were $71.6 million in the third quarter, up from $70.6 million reported for the same period last year.

Persistency, or the percentage of insurance remaining in force from one year prior, was 67.8% at Sept. 30, compared with 61.3% at Dec. 31 and 60.2% a year ago.