Natixis Advisors LLC Increases Stock Position in Radian Group Inc. (NYSE:RDN)

Key Points

• Natixis Advisors LLC increased its stake in Radian Group by 3.7%, owning approximately 0.21% of the company valued at $9.6 million.
• Insider selling included EVP Edward J. Hoffman, who sold 20,000 shares at $36.00 each, reducing his ownership by 11.01%.
• Radian Group announced a $750 million share buyback plan to repurchase 16.9% of its shares, indicating management believes the stock is undervalued.

Natixis Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Radian Group Inc. (NYSE:RDN - Free Report) by 3.7% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 290,314 shares of the insurance provider's stock after purchasing an additional 10,368 shares during the quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC owned 0.21% of Radian Group worth $9,601,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. LPL Financial LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Radian Group by 177.6% in the 4th quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 27,320 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $867,000 after buying an additional 17,477 shares during the last quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA lifted its holdings in Radian Group by 27.1% during the 4th quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 23,745 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $753,000 after purchasing an additional 5,063 shares during the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. lifted its holdings in shares of Radian Group by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 199,889 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $6,340,000 after buying an additional 629 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its position in shares of Radian Group by 7.3% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 92,480 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $2,933,000 after purchasing an additional 6,258 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of Montreal Can grew its position in Radian Group by 13.1% in the fourth quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 21,211 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $673,000 after acquiring an additional 2,457 shares during the last quarter. 95.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Radian Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE RDN traded up $0.77 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $34.06. The company's stock had a trading volume of 263,469 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,500,969. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.61 billion, a PE ratio of 8.58 and a beta of 0.74. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $34.40 and a two-hundred day moving average of $33.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 1.68 and a quick ratio of 3.44. Radian Group Inc. has a 52 week low of $29.32 and a 52 week high of $36.99.

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

Radian Group declared that its board has initiated a share buyback program on Wednesday, May 21st that authorizes the company to buyback $750.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the insurance provider to buy up to 16.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically an indication that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Radian Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 17th. Investors of record on Monday, June 2nd were paid a dividend of $0.255 per share. This represents a $1.02 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 2nd. Radian Group's payout ratio is 25.69%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Noel Joseph Spiegel sold 5,105 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.66, for a total value of $171,834.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 20,008 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $673,469.28. This represents a 20.33% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Lisa Mumford sold 2,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.45, for a total value of $83,625.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 22,329 shares of the company's stock, valued at $746,905.05. This trade represents a 10.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 86,378 shares of company stock worth $2,944,414 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 2.01% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Barclays boosted their price target on Radian Group from $34.00 to $35.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods downgraded Radian Group from a "moderate buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $38.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Monday, July 7th. Compass Point cut Radian Group from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, May 23rd. Finally, UBS Group reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $38.00 price target (up previously from $36.00) on shares of Radian Group in a report on Monday, July 14th.

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.