Barclays Issues Positive Forecast for Radian Group (NYSE:RDN) Stock Price

Radian Group (NYSE:RDN) had its price target raised by Barclays from $35.00 to $36.00 in a research note issued to investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an equal weight rating on the insurance provider’s stock.

A number of other research analysts have also weighed in on RDN. BTIG Research began coverage on Radian Group in a report on Tuesday, September 22nd. They set a “buy” rating and a $48.00 target price on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price target on Radian Group from $46.00 to $44.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Radian Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, September 19th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Radian Group from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b+)” rating in a report on Monday, September 28th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Radian Group currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $43.14.

Radian Group Trading Up 2.7%

Radian Group stock opened at $33.46 on Monday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $36.02 and a 200 day simple moving average of $35.84. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.60, a PEG ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 0.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a current ratio of 0.60. Radian Group has a 52 week low of $30.53 and a 52 week high of $41.05.

Radian Group (NYSE:RDN) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 6th. The insurance provider reported $1.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.34 by ($0.20). Radian Group had a net margin of 32.60% and a return on equity of 13.65%. The business had revenue of $574.96 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $556.55 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.01 EPS. Radian Group’s quarterly revenue was up 92.3% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Radian Group will post 4.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Radian Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 9th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 24th were given a $0.2550 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 24th. This represents a $1.02 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.0%. Radian Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 26.22%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Radian Group

In other news, EVP Meghan Bartholomew sold 7,812 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.94, for a total transaction of $280,763.28. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 39,203 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,408,955.82. This trade represents a 16.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Company insiders own 2.03% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Radian Group

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in Radian Group during the 2nd quarter worth $728,072,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of Radian Group by 4.0% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 5,948,335 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $196,773,000 after acquiring an additional 230,912 shares during the period. Donald Smith & CO. Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Radian Group in the second quarter valued at about $163,104,000. Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec acquired a new position in shares of Radian Group in the second quarter valued at about $89,334,000. Finally, Bruni J V & Co. Co. acquired a new position in shares of Radian Group in the second quarter valued at about $59,355,376. 95.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Radian Group

Radian Group Inc (NYSE: RDN) is a financial services company focused on supporting homeownership and the U.S. residential real estate market. Its principal business is mortgage insurance, which helps protect lenders and investors against losses when borrowers default on certain residential mortgage loans. Through its mortgage insurance operations, Radian serves mortgage lenders, banks, credit unions and other housing-finance participants.

The company also provides services and technology intended to support the mortgage and homeownership lifecycle.