Radian Group Inc. (NYSE:RDN) Short Interest Up 41.1% in February

Radian Group Inc. (NYSE:RDN) was the target of a large increase in short interest in February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 12,390,000 shares, an increase of 41.1% from the February 13th total of 8,780,000 shares. Currently, 8.7% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 1,260,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 9.8 days.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Gregory Serio sold 4,100 shares of Radian Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.65, for a total value of $133,865.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 344 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,231.60. This trade represents a 92.26 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 2.16% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Radian Group

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Picton Mahoney Asset Management lifted its holdings in shares of Radian Group by 54.3% during the fourth quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management now owns 972 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 342 shares in the last quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC increased its position in Radian Group by 61.5% during the fourth quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 1,274 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 485 shares during the period. Covestor Ltd raised its stake in Radian Group by 35.6% in the 4th quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,351 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 355 shares in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Radian Group by 124.8% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 2,378 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $75,000 after purchasing an additional 1,320 shares during the period. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its stake in Radian Group by 735.8% during the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 2,407 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $76,000 after acquiring an additional 2,119 shares during the period. 95.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Radian Group Stock Performance

Shares of RDN traded up $0.02 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $31.52. The stock had a trading volume of 3,176,176 shares, compared to its average volume of 951,088. The firm has a market cap of $4.57 billion, a PE ratio of 8.02, a P/E/G ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 1.04. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $32.62 and a 200-day simple moving average of $33.62. Radian Group has a one year low of $29.17 and a one year high of $37.86. The company has a current ratio of 2.87, a quick ratio of 2.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50.

Radian Group (NYSE:RDN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The insurance provider reported $1.09 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.92 by $0.17. Radian Group had a return on equity of 13.96% and a net margin of 46.85%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Radian Group will post 3.79 EPS for the current year.

Radian Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 24th were issued a dividend of $0.255 per share. This is an increase from Radian Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 24th. This represents a $1.02 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.24%. Radian Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 25.95%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

RDN has been the topic of several recent research reports. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Radian Group from $33.00 to $34.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their target price on Radian Group from $41.00 to $40.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Radian Group currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $36.80.

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.