Radian Group (NYSE:RDN) Cut to “Hold” at Zacks Research

Zacks Research lowered shares of Radian Group (NYSE:RDN) from a strong-buy rating to a hold rating in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday morning,Zacks.com reports.

Several other research analysts have also commented on RDN. Roth Capital reissued a “buy” rating and set a $45.00 price objective on shares of Radian Group in a report on Friday, January 2nd. UBS Group cut their price target on shares of Radian Group from $43.00 to $40.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 15th. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Radian Group from $35.00 to $37.00 and gave the company a “cautious” rating in a research report on Monday, October 6th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on shares of Radian Group from $40.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 18th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (a-)” rating on shares of Radian Group in a research note on Monday, December 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has issued a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Radian Group currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $40.00.

Radian Group Trading Up 1.1%

Radian Group stock opened at $36.04 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a quick ratio of 1.67 and a current ratio of 1.67. Radian Group has a fifty-two week low of $29.32 and a fifty-two week high of $38.84. The stock has a market cap of $4.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.99 and a beta of 0.82. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $35.50 and its 200-day moving average price is $34.99.

Radian Group (NYSE:RDN) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The insurance provider reported $1.15 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.95 by $0.20. The business had revenue of $303.19 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $308.77 million. Radian Group had a return on equity of 13.29% and a net margin of 45.90%.The firm’s revenue was down 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.03 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Radian Group will post 3.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Radian Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 9th. Investors of record on Monday, November 24th were issued a dividend of $0.255 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 24th. This represents a $1.02 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.8%. Radian Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 25.44%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Radian Group news, EVP Eric Ray sold 13,957 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.60, for a total transaction of $496,869.20. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 2.01% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Radian Group during the 2nd quarter valued at about $85,785,000. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al bought a new stake in Radian Group in the second quarter valued at approximately $69,714,000. Jane Street Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Radian Group by 11,446.4% during the first quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 1,310,517 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $43,339,000 after purchasing an additional 1,299,167 shares during the period. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. grew its holdings in shares of Radian Group by 151.7% in the third quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 1,873,049 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $67,842,000 after purchasing an additional 1,128,852 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Millennium Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Radian Group in the first quarter worth approximately $27,282,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.33% of the company’s stock.

Radian Group Company Profile

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.