Ready Capital (NYSE:RC) Trading Up 3.8% – Here’s Why

Ready Capital Co. (NYSE:RC) shot up 3.8% during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $4.99 and last traded at $5.03. 639,576 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 66% from the average session volume of 1,891,700 shares. The stock had previously closed at $4.84.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently commented on RC shares. UBS Group decreased their price objective on Ready Capital from $7.00 to $5.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, March 14th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price target on Ready Capital from $6.25 to $4.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Citizens Jmp lowered shares of Ready Capital from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Wedbush reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $6.00 target price (down previously from $8.00) on shares of Ready Capital in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, B. Riley reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $10.00 target price (down from $12.00) on shares of Ready Capital in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Ready Capital has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $7.50.

Ready Capital Price Performance

The stock has a market cap of $861.72 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -7.18 and a beta of 1.43. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $6.08 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $6.83. The company has a quick ratio of 1.67, a current ratio of 1.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54.

Ready Capital Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.125 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $0.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 9.97%. Ready Capital’s payout ratio is currently -18.94%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Thomas E. Capasse acquired 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $4.80 per share, with a total value of $48,000.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 319,925 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,535,640. This trade represents a 3.23 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.09% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Ready Capital

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Ready Capital by 21.3% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,266,585 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $15,458,000 after buying an additional 398,005 shares during the period. Barclays PLC lifted its stake in Ready Capital by 205.9% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 484,986 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $3,699,000 after buying an additional 326,467 shares in the last quarter. GraniteShares Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Ready Capital in the 4th quarter worth about $2,480,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in Ready Capital by 50.5% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 336,773 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $2,570,000 after buying an additional 112,934 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Ready Capital by 4.1% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,838,284 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $29,292,000 after acquiring an additional 150,479 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 55.87% of the company’s stock.

Ready Capital Company Profile

Ready Capital Corporation operates as a real estate finance company in the United States. It operates through two segments: LMM Commercial Real Estate and Small Business Lending. The company originates, acquires, finances, and services lower-to-middle-market (LLM) commercial real estate loans, small business administration (SBA) loans, residential mortgage loans, construction loans, and mortgage-backed securities collateralized primarily by LLM loans, or other real estate-related investments.