Vest Financial LLC Decreases Position in Radian Group Inc. (NYSE:RDN)

Vest Financial LLC lowered its holdings in Radian Group Inc. (NYSE:RDN - Free Report) by 91.1% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 96,942 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 995,112 shares during the period. Vest Financial LLC owned approximately 0.07% of Radian Group worth $3,206,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Radian Group by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 722,402 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $22,915,000 after purchasing an additional 13,202 shares during the period. First Eagle Investment Management LLC grew its stake in Radian Group by 5.3% during the fourth quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 510,873 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $16,205,000 after acquiring an additional 25,500 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Radian Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $4,872,000. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec grew its stake in Radian Group by 37.7% in the 4th quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 68,829 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $2,183,000 after buying an additional 18,829 shares in the last quarter. Finally, New Age Alpha Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Radian Group in the 4th quarter worth approximately $478,000. Institutional investors own 95.33% of the company's stock.

Radian Group Trading Up 1.0%

Shares of RDN stock traded up $0.34 on Friday, hitting $33.54. 889,483 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,231,741. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 2.01 and a current ratio of 2.87. Radian Group Inc. has a one year low of $29.32 and a one year high of $37.86. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $32.85 and its 200 day simple moving average is $32.89. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.53, a P/E/G ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 0.71.

Radian Group (NYSE:RDN - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The insurance provider reported $0.99 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.95 by $0.04. Radian Group had a net margin of 46.85% and a return on equity of 13.96%. The firm had revenue of $318.11 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $326.99 million. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.03 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was down .4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Radian Group Inc. will post 3.79 EPS for the current year.

Radian Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 17th. Investors of record on Monday, June 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.255 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 2nd. This represents a $1.02 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.04%. Radian Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 25.95%.

Radian Group declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, May 21st that permits the company to repurchase $750.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the insurance provider to purchase up to 16.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have commented on RDN shares. Compass Point cut shares of Radian Group from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Radian Group from $34.00 to $36.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $38.00 target price (up previously from $37.00) on shares of Radian Group in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $36.83.

Insider Activity at Radian Group

In related news, EVP Edward J. Hoffman sold 10,000 shares of Radian Group stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.72, for a total transaction of $337,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 201,586 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,797,479.92. This trade represents a 4.73% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Eric Ray sold 30,000 shares of Radian Group stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.30, for a total transaction of $999,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 13,957 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $464,768.10. This trade represents a 68.25% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.16% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.