Keefe, Bruyette & Woods Downgrades Radian Group (NYSE:RDN) to Hold

Keefe, Bruyette & Woods downgraded shares of Radian Group (NYSE:RDN - Free Report) from a moderate buy rating to a hold rating in a research report released on Monday morning, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods currently has $38.00 price objective on the insurance provider's stock.

A number of other brokerages have also recently weighed in on RDN. UBS Group lifted their target price on Radian Group from $34.00 to $36.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, May 5th. Compass Point lowered Radian Group from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $37.17.

Radian Group Trading Down 2.2%

Shares of RDN stock traded down $0.77 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $34.24. 1,282,766 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,285,429. Radian Group has a fifty-two week low of $29.32 and a fifty-two week high of $37.86. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $34.50 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $33.08. The company has a quick ratio of 3.44, a current ratio of 3.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52. The stock has a market cap of $4.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.71 and a beta of 0.72.

Radian Group (NYSE:RDN - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The insurance provider reported $0.99 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.95 by $0.04. Radian Group had a return on equity of 13.54% and a net margin of 46.29%. The business had revenue of $318.11 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $326.99 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.03 earnings per share. The business's revenue was down .4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Radian Group will post 3.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Radian Group announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Wednesday, May 21st that allows the company to buyback $750.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the insurance provider to purchase up to 16.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually an indication that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Radian Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 2nd were given a dividend of $0.255 per share. This represents a $1.02 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.98%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 2nd. Radian Group's payout ratio is 25.95%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Radian Group

In related news, Director Noel Joseph Spiegel sold 5,105 shares of the business'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 sale, the director directly owned 20,008 shares of the company's stock, valued at $673,469.28. The trade was a 20.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Edward J. Hoffman sold 20,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.00, for a total value of $720,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 161,586 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,817,096. This represents a 11.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 86,378 shares of company stock valued at $2,944,414. Company insiders own 2.01% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Radian Group

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. lifted its position in Radian Group by 191.3% in the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 871 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 572 shares during the period. Picton Mahoney Asset Management lifted its position in Radian Group by 54.3% in the fourth quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management now owns 972 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 342 shares during the period. Covestor Ltd lifted its position in Radian Group by 35.6% in the fourth 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 period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Radian Group by 124.8% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 2,378 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $75,000 after purchasing an additional 1,320 shares during the period. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp lifted its position in Radian Group by 735.8% in the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 2,407 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $76,000 after purchasing an additional 2,119 shares during the period. 95.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.