Shares of MGIC Investment Corporation (NYSE: MTG) have rallied 23.8% year to date, outperforming the industry's growth of 12.7%, the Finance sector's rise of 10.4% and the Zacks S&P 500 composite's increase of 16.8%. With a market capitalization of $6.2 billion, the average volume of shares traded in the last three months was 1.7 million. Solid insurance in force, a decline in loss and claims payments, lower delinquency, better housing market fundamentals and prudent capital deployment drive this Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) mortgage insurer. MTG has a solid earnings surprise history. It surpassed estimates in each of the last four quarters, the average earnings surprise being 15.59%. Earnings of MTG have risen 8.7% over the last five years. Return on invested capital in the trailing 12 months was 11.4%, better than the industry average of 2.4%, reflecting MTG's efficiency in utilizing funds to generate income. Image Source: Zacks Investment Research Can the Stock Retain the Momentum? New business, combined with increasing annual persistency, drives growth of the insurance-in-force portfolio. A higher level of ...