Brokerages Set Radian Group Inc. (NYSE:RDN) Target Price at $36.80

Radian Group Inc. (NYSE:RDN) has earned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the six analysts that are covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and two have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price target among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $36.83.

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on RDN shares. Compass Point downgraded Radian Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday. UBS Group upped their price target on Radian Group from $34.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $38.00 price target (up previously from $37.00) on shares of Radian Group in a research report on Friday, May 2nd.

Radian Group Price Performance

Radian Group stock opened at $33.28 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.47, a PEG ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 0.71. Radian Group has a 1 year low of $29.32 and a 1 year high of $37.86. The business has a 50-day moving average of $32.65 and a 200-day moving average of $32.90. The company has a current ratio of 2.87, a quick ratio of 2.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50.

Radian Group (NYSE:RDN) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The insurance provider reported $0.99 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.95 by $0.04. Radian Group had a return on equity of 13.96% and a net margin of 46.85%. The business had revenue of $318.11 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $326.99 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.03 EPS. Radian Group’s revenue for the quarter was down .4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Radian Group will post 3.79 EPS for the current year.

Radian Group announced that its board has authorized a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, May 21st that allows the company to repurchase $750.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the insurance provider to buy up to 16.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Radian Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 17th. Investors of record on Monday, June 2nd will be paid a $0.255 dividend. This represents a $1.02 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.06%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 2nd. Radian Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 25.95%.

Insider Activity at Radian Group

In other Radian Group news, Director Gregory Serio sold 4,100 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.65, for a total transaction of $133,865.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 344 shares in the company, valued at $11,231.60. This trade represents a 92.26% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 2.01% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. First Trust Advisors LP raised its stake in Radian Group by 20.6% in the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 10,766,237 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $341,505,000 after purchasing an additional 1,836,020 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Radian Group by 4.0% in the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 6,340,962 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $209,696,000 after acquiring an additional 246,799 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. grew its position in Radian Group by 9.2% in the first quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,658,250 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $120,978,000 after acquiring an additional 306,889 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in Radian Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $73,693,000. Finally, River Road Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Radian Group by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC now owns 1,644,386 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $52,160,000 after purchasing an additional 5,524 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.33% of the company’s stock.

About Radian Group

Radian Group Inc, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the mortgage and real estate services business in the United States. It operates through two segments, Mortgage Insurance and Homegenius segments. The Mortgage Insurance segment aggregates, manages, and distributes U.S. mortgage credit risk for mortgage lending institutions and mortgage credit investors, through private mortgage insurance on residential first-lien mortgage loans; and other credit risk management solutions, including contract underwriting.