Radian Group (NYSE:RDN) Upgraded at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Radian Group (NYSE:RDN) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note released on Saturday morning.

Several other equities analysts also recently commented on the stock. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Radian Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Radian Group in a research note on Tuesday, June 16th. Bank of America upgraded Radian Group from an “underperform” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $35.00 to $43.00 in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Royal Bank Of Canada assumed coverage on Radian Group in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $47.00 target price for the company. Finally, Barclays upped their price target on Radian Group from $37.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, May 11th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Radian Group has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $43.17.

Radian Group Trading Up 0.8%

NYSE RDN opened at $39.31 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $36.67 and a 200-day simple moving average of $35.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a current ratio of 0.58. Radian Group has a one year low of $31.50 and a one year high of $41.05. The firm has a market cap of $5.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.68, a PEG ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.72.

Radian Group (NYSE:RDN) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The insurance provider reported $1.27 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.17 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $466.34 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $377.83 million. Radian Group had a net margin of 40.50% and a return on equity of 13.57%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 46.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.99 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Radian Group will post 5.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Radian Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 17th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 2nd were issued a $0.255 dividend. This represents a $1.02 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 2nd. Radian Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 25.12%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Radian Group

In related news, Chairman Howard Bernard Culang sold 3,612 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.00, for a total value of $130,032.00. Following the transaction, the chairman owned 8,050 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $289,800. This represents a 30.97% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Edward J. Hoffman sold 15,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.00, for a total value of $570,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 93,708 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,560,904. This represents a 13.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last quarter, insiders sold 30,516 shares of company stock worth $1,127,576. 2.03% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV grew its holdings in Radian Group by 0.9% during the third quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 33,365 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,208,000 after acquiring an additional 288 shares during the period. Hantz Financial Services Inc. lifted its holdings in Radian Group by 26.9% in the fourth quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 1,553 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $56,000 after acquiring an additional 329 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in Radian Group by 14.6% in the second quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 2,696 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $97,000 after acquiring an additional 344 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Radian Group by 6.1% during the 4th quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 6,060 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $218,000 after purchasing an additional 349 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its position in shares of Radian Group by 14.8% during the 1st quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 2,764 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $91,000 after purchasing an additional 357 shares in 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.