Radian Group Inc. (NYSE:RDN) Sees Significant Drop in Short Interest

Radian Group Inc. (NYSE:RDN - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a significant decline in short interest in October. As of October 15th, there was short interest totalling 5,010,000 shares, a decline of 17.6% from the September 30th total of 6,080,000 shares. Currently, 3.4% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 857,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 5.8 days.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Eric Ray sold 53,791 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.67, for a total transaction of $1,918,724.97. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other Radian Group news, COO Mary Dickerson sold 19,511 shares of Radian Group stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.93, for a total transaction of $701,030.23. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Eric Ray sold 53,791 shares of Radian Group stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.67, for a total transaction of $1,918,724.97. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 119,772 shares of company stock valued at $4,260,796. Corporate insiders own 2.16% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Radian Group

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. V Square Quantitative Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Radian Group in the third quarter valued at $27,000. Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its stake in shares of Radian Group by 859.3% in the second quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 1,295 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 1,160 shares during the period. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Radian Group by 75.3% in the first quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,650 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $55,000 after purchasing an additional 709 shares during the period. CWM LLC boosted its stake in shares of Radian Group by 539.9% in the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,990 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $62,000 after purchasing an additional 1,679 shares during the period. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. raised its holdings in Radian Group by 352.4% in the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,502 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $87,000 after acquiring an additional 1,949 shares in the last quarter. 95.33% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Radian Group Trading Up 1.6 %

Radian Group stock traded up $0.55 during trading on Monday, reaching $34.11. The company had a trading volume of 354,243 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,004,681. Radian Group has a 12-month low of $24.92 and a 12-month high of $37.86. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $34.94 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $33.06. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.02, a PEG ratio of 1.82 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a quick ratio of 1.84 and a current ratio of 1.84.

Radian Group (NYSE:RDN - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The insurance provider reported $0.99 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.87 by $0.12. Radian Group had a net margin of 47.05% and a return on equity of 14.43%. The firm had revenue of $312.37 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $324.00 million. As a group, equities analysts expect that Radian Group will post 3.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Radian Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 11th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 26th were paid a dividend of $0.245 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 26th. This represents a $0.98 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.87%. Radian Group's dividend payout ratio is currently 25.93%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Roth Mkm lifted their target price on shares of Radian Group from $35.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Radian Group from $32.00 to $37.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Radian Group from $32.00 to $33.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on shares of Radian Group from $36.00 to $39.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Radian Group has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $36.10.

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.