Northern Trust Corp Trims Stock Position in Radian Group Inc. $RDN

Key Points

• Northern Trust Corp has reduced its stake in Radian Group Inc. by 4.4%, now holding approximately 1.64% of the company, valued at about $72.6 million.
• Radian Group's Board of Directors has approved a $750 million share repurchase program, indicating a belief that its shares are undervalued.
• The company has declared a quarterly dividend of $0.255 per share, representing an annual yield of 2.9%.

Northern Trust Corp lowered its stake in shares of Radian Group Inc. (NYSE:RDN - Free Report) by 4.4% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 2,196,738 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 101,541 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp owned approximately 1.64% of Radian Group worth $72,646,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its position in shares of Radian Group by 9.2% during the 1st quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,658,250 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $120,978,000 after purchasing an additional 306,889 shares during the period. Ground Swell Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Radian Group during the 1st quarter worth approximately $290,000. Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its holdings in Radian Group by 3.0% during the 1st quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 97,234 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $3,216,000 after buying an additional 2,808 shares in the last quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board lifted its holdings in Radian Group by 42.5% during the 1st quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 528,798 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $17,487,000 after buying an additional 157,740 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in Radian Group during the 1st quarter worth approximately $40,749,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.33% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Compass Point lowered shares of Radian Group from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, May 23rd. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Radian Group from $34.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. UBS Group reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $38.00 target price (up from $36.00) on shares of Radian Group in a report on Monday, July 14th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered shares of Radian Group from a "moderate buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $38.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Monday, July 7th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $37.00.

Radian Group Stock Up 0.5%

Shares of NYSE:RDN traded up $0.19 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $34.85. The stock had a trading volume of 1,200,413 shares, compared to its average volume of 754,831. Radian Group Inc. has a 1 year low of $29.32 and a 1 year high of $36.99. The firm's 50 day moving average is $34.64 and its 200-day moving average is $33.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 1.68 and a current ratio of 1.68. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.78 and a beta of 0.75.

Radian Group (NYSE:RDN - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The insurance provider reported $1.01 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $321.97 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.98 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was down .9% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Radian Group Inc. will post 3.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Radian Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 9th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 25th will be given a $0.255 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 25th. This represents a $1.02 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.9%. Radian Group's dividend payout ratio is currently 25.69%.

Radian Group announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, May 21st that authorizes the company to buyback $750.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the insurance provider to buy up to 16.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally a sign that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Howard Bernard Culang sold 8,773 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.37, for a total transaction of $292,755.01. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 8,050 shares in the company, valued at approximately $268,628.50. The trade was a 52.15% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Edward J. Hoffman sold 20,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.00, for a total transaction of $720,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 161,586 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,817,096. This represents a 11.01% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 86,378 shares of company stock worth $2,944,414. Corporate insiders own 2.16% of the company's stock.

Radian Group Profile

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.