Radian Group (NYSE:RDN) Hits New 52-Week High – Should You Buy?

Radian Group Inc. (NYSE:RDN) reached a new 52-week high on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $38.90 and last traded at $38.7910, with a volume of 86810 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $38.19.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have commented on the company. UBS Group dropped their target price on Radian Group from $41.00 to $39.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 12th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Radian Group in a report on Tuesday, June 16th. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Radian Group from $37.00 to $39.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, May 11th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Radian Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, June 27th. Finally, Bank of America raised shares of Radian Group from an “underperform” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $35.00 to $43.00 in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $43.17.

Radian Group Price Performance

The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $35.96 and a 200 day simple moving average of $34.77. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.43, a P/E/G ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a current ratio of 0.58.

Radian Group (NYSE:RDN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The insurance provider reported $1.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.17 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $466.34 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $377.83 million. Radian Group had a return on equity of 13.57% and a net margin of 40.50%.The firm’s revenue was up 46.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.99 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Radian Group Inc. will post 5.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Radian Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 17th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 2nd were given a $0.255 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 2nd. This represents a $1.02 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.7%. Radian Group’s payout ratio is 25.12%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Chairman Howard Bernard Culang sold 3,612 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.00, for a total transaction of $130,032.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman directly owned 8,050 shares in the company, valued at $289,800. This represents a 30.97% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Noel Joseph Spiegel sold 4,834 shares of Radian Group stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.19, for a total transaction of $174,942.46. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 20,008 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $724,089.52. This represents a 19.46% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 75,516 shares of company stock worth $2,747,576. Corporate insiders own 2.03% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Radian Group by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,959,463 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $214,481,000 after purchasing an additional 63,437 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in 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 worth $196,773,000 after purchasing an additional 230,912 shares in the last quarter. Donald Smith & CO. Inc. lifted its stake in Radian Group by 43.7% in the fourth quarter. Donald Smith & CO. Inc. now owns 3,012,255 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $108,411,000 after buying an additional 916,003 shares during the period. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. lifted its stake in Radian Group by 16.8% in the fourth quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 2,188,624 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $78,769,000 after buying an additional 315,575 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Radian Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $77,364,000. 95.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Radian Group

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.