RDN Boosts Shareholder Value, Okays Buyback Program Worth $750M

The board of directors of Radian Group Inc. RDN authorized a share buyback program to return more value to investors. With the latest authorization, the board has approved a new $750 million share repurchase program, which expires on Dec. 31, 2027. This brings Radian Group’s total outstanding repurchase authority to around $863 million, with approximately $113 million remaining under the existing share repurchase program as of May 20, 2025.

This new authorization will allow Radian Group to repurchase up to an additional $750 million of shares. Since 2020, the multi-line insurer has repurchased 74 million shares for $1.8 billion, which represents more than 36% of shares outstanding as of Jan. 1, 2020. 

An Effective Capital Deployment Instills Confidence in RDN

This new share repurchase program reflects confidence in Radian Group’s strong financial position and capital flexibility. RDN maintains a solid balance sheet with sufficient liquidity and strong cash flows. A strong capital position helps Radian Group deploy capital via share repurchases and dividend hikes that enhance shareholders’ value. During the three months ended March 31, 2025, Radian repurchased shares for $207 million, including commissions. As of March 31, 2025, purchase authority of up to $336 million remained available under this program. 

Concurrently, the board also approved a 25.5 cents per share quarterly dividend. The dividend will be paid out on June 17, 2025, to stockholders of record as of June 2. Riding on continued financial strength and flexibility, Radian declared a 4.1% increase in its quarterly dividend in the first quarter of 2025. This is the sixth consecutive year where RDN has increased the quarterly dividend, which has more than doubled over the past five years. Dividend has increased at a six-year CAGR of 13%. Its current dividend yield of 3.1% is better than the industry average of 2.5%. This makes the stock an attractive pick for yield-seeking investors.

RDN remains well-poised to return capital to its stockholders, along with creating value through its growth initiatives, delivering innovative products and providing top-tier service to the customers. Improving mortgage insurance portfolio, declining claims, a well-performing All Other segment, and a solid capital position should help the insurer deliver impressive results.

Stock Price Performance  

Share of this Zacks Rank #4 (Sell) mortgage insurer has gained 4.3% year to date, underperforming both the industry and the sector’s return of 5.7% but outperforming the Zacks S&P 500 composite's growth of 0.2%.

RDN Lags Industry, Sector, Outperforms S&P YTD

Another Insurer on the Same Path

The board of directors of Chubb Limited CB approved a 6.6% hike in its dividend to $3.88 per share or 97 cents per share quarterly in May 2025. Management also authorized a new $5 billion share repurchase program effective July 1, 2025. The existing approval remains in place until June 30, 2025.

Chubb has an impressive history of deploying capital that includes distributing wealth to shareholders via dividend raises and share buybacks. It is supported by a strong capital and liquidity position that is backed by cash flow generation. 

Stocks to Consider   

Some better-ranked stocks from the multi-line insurance industry are EverQuote, Inc. EVER and Horace Mann Educators Corporation HMN, each sporting a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

Horace Mann Educators has a solid track record of beating earnings estimates in three of the last four quarters while matched in one, the average being 24.09%. Year to date, shares of HMN have climbed 10%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for HMN’s 2025 and 2026 earnings implies year-over-year growth of 26.1% and 10.3%, respectively.

EverQuote has a solid track record of beating earnings estimates in each of the trailing four quarters, the average being 122.56%. Year to date, shares of EVER have gained 13.1%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for EVER’s 2025 and 2026 earnings implies year-over-year growth of 32.9% and 20%, respectively.

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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

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