Radian Group Inc. (NYSE:RDN) Receives Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Radian Group Inc. (NYSE:RDN) has earned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the seven research firms that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price target among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $40.80.

A number of brokerages have issued reports on RDN. Barclays set a $40.00 price objective on shares of Radian Group in a research report on Monday, February 23rd. Roth Mkm reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $45.00 target price on shares of Radian Group in a report on Friday, January 2nd. Zacks Research raised Radian Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised Radian Group from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $41.00 to $42.00 in a research report on Wednesday, February 11th. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded Radian Group from a “buy (a-)” rating to a “buy (b+)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 13th.

Radian Group Trading Down 0.4%

NYSE RDN opened at $34.37 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 3.40, a quick ratio of 3.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $34.20 and a 200 day simple moving average of $34.69. Radian Group has a 12 month low of $29.32 and a 12 month high of $38.84. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.28, a PEG ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 0.79.

Radian Group (NYSE:RDN) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 18th. The insurance provider reported $1.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.11 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $300.51 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $300.45 million. Radian Group had a net margin of 46.99% and a return on equity of 13.07%. The business’s revenue was up 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.09 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Radian Group will post 3.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Radian Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 10th. Investors of record on Monday, February 23rd will be issued a dividend of $0.255 per share. This represents a $1.02 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 23rd. Radian Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 24.58%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Radian Group news, EVP Eric Ray sold 13,957 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.60, for a total value of $496,869.20. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 2.16% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Radian Group

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Radian Group in the second quarter worth $85,785,000. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. increased its holdings in Radian Group by 151.7% in the 3rd quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 1,873,049 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $67,842,000 after acquiring an additional 1,128,852 shares during the last quarter. Donald Smith & CO. Inc. increased its holdings in Radian Group by 43.7% in the 4th quarter. Donald Smith & CO. Inc. now owns 3,012,255 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $108,411,000 after acquiring an additional 916,003 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Radian Group by 2.7% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 16,272,597 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $589,393,000 after acquiring an additional 427,473 shares during the period. Finally, Millennium Management LLC lifted its holdings in Radian Group by 59.7% during the third quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,007,172 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $36,480,000 after purchasing an additional 376,533 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.33% of the company’s stock.

About Radian Group

Radian Group Inc (NYSE:RDN) is a leading provider of private mortgage insurance and related risk management solutions in the United States. Through its primary subsidiary, Radian Guaranty Inc, the company underwrites borrower-paid and lender-paid mortgage insurance that protects lenders and investors from potential losses arising from borrower defaults. Radian’s core business focuses on supporting residential mortgage originations and servicing by offering capital-efficient credit protection and credit risk transfer strategies.

Beyond mortgage insurance, Radian offers an array of real estate transaction services under its Radian Title division.