Ground Swell Capital LLC Takes Position in Radian Group Inc. (NYSE:RDN)

Key Points

• Ground Swell Capital LLC has made a new investment of approximately $290,000 in Radian Group Inc., purchasing 8,764 shares in the 1st quarter.
• Radian Group announced a quarterly $0.255 dividend, representing a 2.9% dividend yield and a payout ratio of 25.69%.
• The company has initiated a stock buyback plan allowing the purchase of up to 16.9% of its stock, indicating that the board believes the shares are undervalued.

Ground Swell Capital LLC bought a new stake in Radian Group Inc. (NYSE:RDN - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 8,764 shares of the insurance provider's stock, valued at approximately $290,000.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Covestor Ltd raised its position in Radian Group by 35.6% in the 4th quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,351 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 355 shares during the last quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. raised its position in Radian Group by 3.3% in the 4th quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 15,854 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $503,000 after purchasing an additional 502 shares during the last quarter. Xponance Inc. raised its position in Radian Group by 5.0% in the 1st quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 11,379 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $376,000 after purchasing an additional 538 shares during the last quarter. US Bancorp DE raised its position in Radian Group by 22.7% in the 1st quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 3,972 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $131,000 after purchasing an additional 735 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quantinno Capital Management LP raised its position in Radian Group by 9.8% in the 4th quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 8,629 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $274,000 after purchasing an additional 768 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 95.33% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

RDN has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Radian Group from $34.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Compass Point lowered shares of Radian Group from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, May 23rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered shares of Radian Group from a "moderate buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $38.00 target price for the company. in a report on Monday, July 7th. Finally, UBS Group reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $38.00 target price (up previously from $36.00) on shares of Radian Group in a report on Monday, July 14th.

Radian Group Trading Down 1.8%

RDN traded down $0.63 during trading on Friday, reaching $34.52. 982,337 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,068,433. The company's fifty day moving average price is $34.53 and its 200-day moving average price is $33.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 1.68 and a current ratio of 1.68. Radian Group Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $29.32 and a fifty-two week high of $36.99. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.68 billion, a PE ratio of 8.70 and a beta of 0.74.

Radian Group (NYSE:RDN - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The insurance provider reported $1.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.93 by $0.08. Radian Group had a net margin of 45.62% and a return on equity of 13.25%. The company had revenue of $318.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $321.97 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.98 EPS. The firm's revenue was down .9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Radian Group Inc. will post 3.79 EPS for the current year.

Radian Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 9th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 25th will be issued a $0.255 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 25th. This represents a $1.02 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.0%. Radian Group's payout ratio is 25.69%.

Radian Group declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback program on Wednesday, May 21st that authorizes the company to repurchase $750.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the insurance provider to purchase up to 16.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often an indication that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Eric Ray sold 30,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, June 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.30, for a total value of $999,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 13,957 shares of the company's stock, valued at $464,768.10. The trade was a 68.25% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Lisa Mumford sold 2,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, June 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.45, for a total transaction of $83,625.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 22,329 shares of the company's stock, valued at $746,905.05. This trade represents a 10.07% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 86,378 shares of company stock worth $2,944,414 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 2.01% 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.