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

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen upgraded Radian Group from “hold” to “buy.” Across analysts, the stock has a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating and an average price target of $42.57.
• Radian reported quarterly EPS of $1.44, beating the $1.20 consensus estimate, and revenue of $624.11 million, above expectations of $595.99 million.
• The stock opened at $36.55, within its 52-week range of $30.53 to $41.05.

Radian Group (NYSE:RDN - Get Free Report) was upgraded by analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Saturday, Wall Street Zen reports.

Several other brokerages also recently issued reports on RDN. Barclays raised their price target on Radian Group from $36.00 to $37.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, November 6th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price objective on Radian Group from $44.00 to $43.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. BTIG Research assumed coverage on Radian Group in a research report on Tuesday, September 22nd. They set a "buy" rating and a $48.00 price objective for the company. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $43.00 target price on Radian Group in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised Radian Group from a "buy (b)" rating to a "buy (b+)" rating in a report on Wednesday. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $42.57.

Radian Group Stock Performance

NYSE:RDN opened at $36.55 on Friday. Radian Group has a 1 year low of $30.53 and a 1 year high of $41.05. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $34.84 and its 200 day simple moving average is $35.36. The company has a current ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.62 billion, a PE ratio of 7.34, a PEG ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 0.69.

Radian Group (NYSE:RDN - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, November 5th. The insurance provider reported $1.44 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.20 by $0.24. The firm had revenue of $624.11 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $595.99 million. Radian Group had a net margin of 28.41% and a return on equity of 14.39%. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.15 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Radian Group will post 5.04 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Radian Group news, EVP Meghan Bartholomew sold 7,812 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, September 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.94, for a total value of $280,763.28. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 39,203 shares in the company, valued at $1,408,955.82. This trade represents a 16.62% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Stephen Keleher sold 8,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.58, for a total transaction of $308,640.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 27,789 shares in the company, valued at $1,072,099.62. This represents a 22.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 2.03% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Radian Group

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in RDN. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Radian Group in the 2nd quarter valued at $728,072,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in shares of Radian Group by 4.0% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 5,948,335 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $196,773,000 after purchasing an additional 230,912 shares in the last quarter. Donald Smith & CO. Inc. bought a new position in Radian Group during the 2nd quarter valued at about $163,104,000. Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec bought a new position in Radian Group during the 2nd quarter valued at about $89,334,000. Finally, Bruni J V & Co. Co. bought a new position in Radian Group during the 2nd quarter valued at about $59,355,376. 95.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Radian Group

Radian Group Inc. is a mortgage and real estate services company whose primary business is private mortgage insurance. Through its subsidiaries, it provides mortgage insurance to lenders and other housing finance participants in the United States. Mortgage insurance helps protect lenders and investors against losses if borrowers default. It can also support home purchases by allowing qualified borrowers to obtain mortgages with smaller down payments than would otherwise be required. Radian also offers services and solutions related to mortgage risk management.

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