Radian Group (NYSE:RDN) Cut to "Hold" at Compass Point

Radian Group (NYSE:RDN - Get Free Report) was downgraded by Compass Point from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a note issued to investors on Friday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other analysts also recently weighed in on RDN. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $38.00 price target (up previously from $37.00) on shares of Radian Group in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. UBS Group increased their target price on Radian Group from $34.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $36.83.

Radian Group Trading Up 2.8%

NYSE:RDN traded up $0.92 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $34.20. 1,073,860 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,220,144. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 2.01 and a current ratio of 2.87. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.70, a PEG ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 0.71. Radian Group has a 12 month low of $29.32 and a 12 month high of $37.86. The company has a fifty day moving average of $32.73 and a 200 day moving average of $32.91.

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

Radian Group declared that its board has approved a stock 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 repurchase 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 stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Gregory Serio sold 4,100 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.65, for a total transaction of $133,865.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 344 shares in the company, valued at $11,231.60. The trade was a 92.26% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 2.01% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Picton Mahoney Asset Management raised its position in Radian Group by 54.3% during the fourth quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management now owns 972 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 342 shares during the period. Covestor Ltd raised its position in shares of Radian Group by 35.6% during 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. Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its position in shares of Radian Group by 14.8% during the 1st quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 2,764 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $91,000 after purchasing an additional 357 shares during the last quarter. CX Institutional lifted its stake in Radian Group by 5.8% in the 4th quarter. CX Institutional now owns 8,233 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $261,000 after buying an additional 451 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AlphaQuest LLC boosted its holdings in Radian Group by 3.1% in the 1st quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 15,904 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $526,000 after buying an additional 476 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.33% 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.