Should You Buy Radian Group Inc (RDN)?

While the market driven by short-term sentiment influenced by uncertainty regarding the future of the interest rate environment in the US, the low commodity prices and the economic turmoil in China, many smart money investors are keeping their optimism regarding the current bull run, while still hedging many of their long positions. However, as we know, big investors usually buy stocks with strong fundamentals, which is why we believe we can profit from imitating them. In this article, we are going to take a look at the smart money sentiment surrounding Radian Group Inc (NYSE:RDN).

Is Radian Group Inc worth your attention right now? The best stock pickers are in a bullish mood. The number of long hedge fund positions increased by 2 recently. At the end of this article we will also compare RDN to other stocks including Corelogic Inc (NYSE:CLGX), ENSCO PLC (NYSE:ESV), and First Horizon National Corporation (NYSE:FHN) to get a better sense of its popularity.

According to most stock holders, hedge funds are viewed as unimportant, old investment tools of years past. While there are greater than 8000 funds with their doors open today, Our experts hone in on the aristocrats of this group, about 700 funds. It is estimated that this group of investors administer bulk of all hedge funds’ total asset base, and by watching their unrivaled investments, Insider Monkey has identified a number of investment strategies that have historically beaten the S&P 500 index. Insider Monkey’s small-cap hedge fund strategy exceeded the S&P 500 index by 12 percentage points a year for a decade in their back tests.

Now, we’re going to check out the new action surrounding Radian Group Inc (NYSE:RDN).

How have hedgies been trading Radian Group Inc (NYSE:RDN)?

At the Q3’s end, a total of 33 of the hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey held long positions in this stock, a change of 6% from the second quarter. With the smart money’s capital changing hands, there exists a select group of noteworthy hedge fund managers who were upping their holdings considerably (or already accumulated large positions).

Of the funds tracked by Insider Monkey, Maverick Capital, managed by Lee Ainslie, holds the most valuable position in Radian Group Inc (NYSE:RDN). Maverick Capital has a $188.5 million position in the stock, comprising 3.2% of its 13F portfolio. Sitting at the No. 2 spot is Senator Investment Group, led by Doug Silverman and Alexander Klabin, holding a $165.5 million position; the fund has 2% of its 13F portfolio invested in the stock. Other hedge funds and institutional investors with similar optimism contain John Paulson’s Paulson & Co and Rob Citrone’s Discovery Capital Management.

As industrywide interest jumped, key hedge funds have jumped into Radian Group Inc (NYSE:RDN) headfirst. Stevens Capital Management, managed by Matthew Tewksbury, established the most outsized position in Radian Group Inc (NYSE:RDN). Stevens Capital Management had $3.4 million invested in the company at the end of the quarter. Andrew Feldstein and Stephen Siderow’s Blue Mountain Capital also initiated a $1.5 million position during the quarter. The following funds were also among the new RDN investors: George Hall’s Clinton Group, Jacob Gottlieb’s Visium Asset Management, and Matthew Hulsizer’s PEAK6 Capital Management.

Let’s check out hedge fund activity in other stocks similar to Radian Group Inc (NYSE:RDN). We will take a look at Corelogic Inc (NYSE:CLGX), ENSCO PLC (NYSE:ESV), First Horizon National Corporation (NYSE:FHN), and AngloGold Ashanti Limited (ADR) (NYSE:AU). This group of stocks’ market values are closest to RDN’s market value.

As you can see these stocks had an average of 22 hedge funds with bullish positions and the average amount invested in these stocks was $333 million. That figure was $864 million in RDN’s case. Corelogic Inc (NYSE:CLGX) and ENSCO PLC (NYSE:ESV) are the most popular stocks in this table with a total of 29 funds reporting long positions. On the other hand AngloGold Ashanti Limited (ADR) (NYSE:AU) is the least popular one with only 15 bullish hedge fund positions. Compared to these stocks Radian Group Inc (NYSE:RDN) is more popular among hedge funds. Considering that hedge funds are fond of this stock in relation to its market cap peers, it may be a good idea to analyze it in detail and potentially include it in your portfolio.