Vanguard Group Inc. Sells 861,001 Shares of Radian Group Inc. (NYSE:RDN)

Key Points

• Vanguard Group Inc. reduced its stake in Radian Group Inc. by 4.8% during the first quarter, now holding 17,183,854 shares valued at approximately $568 million.
• Research analysts have recently downgraded Radian Group's stock ratings, with Keefe, Bruyette & Woods shifting their recommendation from "moderate buy" to "hold."
• Radian Group announced a quarterly dividend of $0.255 per share, which will be paid on September 9th, representing an annualized yield of 2.9%.

Vanguard Group Inc. cut its holdings in Radian Group Inc. (NYSE:RDN - Free Report) by 4.8% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 17,183,854 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 861,001 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned about 12.79% of Radian Group worth $568,270,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Covestor Ltd increased its position in shares of Radian Group by 35.6% during the fourth quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,351 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $43,000 after buying an additional 355 shares during the period. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. lifted its stake 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 in the last quarter. Xponance Inc. increased its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 538 shares during the last quarter. US Bancorp DE grew its holdings in shares of Radian Group by 22.7% during the 1st quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 3,972 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $131,000 after purchasing an additional 735 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quantinno Capital Management LP boosted its position in Radian Group by 9.8% during the 4th quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 8,629 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $274,000 after buying an additional 768 shares during the period. 95.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

RDN has been the subject of several research reports. Compass Point cut shares of Radian Group from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, May 23rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut shares of Radian Group from a "moderate buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $38.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Monday, July 7th. 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. Finally, UBS Group restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $38.00 price target (up from $36.00) on shares of Radian Group in a report on Monday, July 14th.

Radian Group Trading Down 1.8%

Shares of NYSE RDN traded down $0.63 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $34.52. The stock had a trading volume of 982,337 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,068,433. The company has a market capitalization of $4.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.70 and a beta of 0.74. Radian Group Inc. has a 1-year low of $29.32 and a 1-year high of $36.99. The company has a quick ratio of 1.68, a current ratio of 1.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $34.53 and a 200 day moving average price of $33.35.

Radian Group (NYSE:RDN - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The insurance provider reported $1.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.93 by $0.08. Radian Group had a return on equity of 13.25% and a net margin of 45.62%. The company had revenue of $318.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $321.97 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.98 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was down .9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that Radian Group Inc. will post 3.79 earnings per share for the current 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 is Monday, August 25th. This represents a $1.02 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.0%. Radian Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 25.69%.

Radian Group announced that its board has initiated a stock repurchase 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 stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically a sign that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Radian Group news, Director Lisa Mumford sold 2,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 6th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at approximately $746,905.05. This trade represents a 10.07% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Howard Bernard Culang sold 8,773 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.37, for a total value of $292,755.01. Following the transaction, the director owned 8,050 shares of the company's stock, valued at $268,628.50. This trade represents a 52.15% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 86,378 shares of company stock worth $2,944,414. 2.01% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.