Radian Group (NYSE:RDN) Sees Large Volume Increase – Time to Buy?

Radian Group Inc. (NYSE:RDN) saw strong trading volume on Wednesday . 2,961,233 shares were traded during mid-day trading, an increase of 148% from the previous session’s volume of 1,194,123 shares.The stock last traded at $32.3620 and had previously closed at $31.67.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Roth Capital reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $45.00 target price on shares of Radian Group in a research report on Friday, January 2nd. Zacks Research lowered shares of Radian Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. UBS Group cut their price objective on Radian Group from $43.00 to $40.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 15th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on Radian Group from $40.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 18th. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on Radian Group from $35.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock a “cautious” rating in a research report on Monday, October 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has issued a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $40.00.

Radian Group Stock Up 3.4%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 1.67 and a quick ratio of 1.67. The firm has a market cap of $4.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.16 and a beta of 0.82. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $35.48 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $34.92.

Radian Group (NYSE:RDN) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 5th. The insurance provider reported $1.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.95 by $0.20. Radian Group had a return on equity of 13.29% and a net margin of 45.90%.The business had revenue of $303.19 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $308.77 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.03 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast 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 was paid on Tuesday, December 9th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 24th were paid a dividend of $0.255 per share. This represents a $1.02 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 24th. Radian Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 25.44%.

Insider Transactions at Radian Group

In other news, EVP Eric Ray sold 13,957 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.60, for a total value of $496,869.20. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 2.16% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Radian Group

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in RDN. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Radian Group during the 2nd quarter valued at $85,785,000. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al purchased a new position in shares of Radian Group in the second quarter worth $69,714,000. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. lifted its holdings in shares of Radian Group by 151.7% during the third quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 1,873,049 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $67,842,000 after purchasing an additional 1,128,852 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Radian Group by 2.7% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 16,272,597 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $589,393,000 after buying an additional 427,473 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Millennium Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Radian Group by 59.7% during the third quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,007,172 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $36,480,000 after buying an additional 376,533 shares during the last quarter. 95.33% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Radian Group Company Profile

Radian Group Inc (NYSE:RDN) is a leading provider of private mortgage insurance and related risk management solutions in the United States. Through its primary subsidiary, Radian Guaranty Inc, the company underwrites borrower-paid and lender-paid mortgage insurance that protects lenders and investors from potential losses arising from borrower defaults. Radian’s core business focuses on supporting residential mortgage originations and servicing by offering capital-efficient credit protection and credit risk transfer strategies.

Beyond mortgage insurance, Radian offers an array of real estate transaction services under its Radian Title division.