Ready Capital (NYSE:RC) Sets New 52-Week Low at $8.25

Shares of Ready Capital Co. (NYSE:RC) hit a new 52-week low on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $8.25 and last traded at $8.27, with a volume of 1249552 shares. The stock had previously closed at $8.39.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on RC shares. BTIG Research cut their price objective on shares of Ready Capital from $12.00 to $10.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued an “underperform” rating and set a $8.00 target price (down previously from $10.00) on shares of Ready Capital in a research report on Monday, March 4th. UBS Group lowered their price objective on shares of Ready Capital from $10.50 to $9.50 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 20th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Ready Capital from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, March 4th. Finally, B. Riley reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $12.00 price objective (down previously from $13.00) on shares of Ready Capital in a research report on Monday, March 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Ready Capital currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $10.93.

Ready Capital Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $1.46 billion, a PE ratio of 3.62 and a beta of 1.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44, a quick ratio of 1.89 and a current ratio of 1.89. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $8.85 and a 200 day moving average price of $9.63.

Ready Capital Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 30th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 28th will be paid a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 14.17%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 27th. Ready Capital’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 51.28%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Gilbert E. Nathan acquired 10,000 shares of Ready Capital stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 14th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $8.65 per share, for a total transaction of $86,500.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 83,099 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $718,806.35. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, Director Gilbert E. Nathan acquired 10,000 shares of Ready Capital stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 14th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $8.65 per share, for a total transaction of $86,500.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 83,099 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $718,806.35. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Kevin M. Luebbers acquired 5,000 shares of Ready Capital stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 5th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $8.43 per share, for a total transaction of $42,150.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 119,925 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,010,967.75. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have bought 17,150 shares of company stock worth $148,280 over the last ninety days. 0.95% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ready Capital

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. BlackRock Inc. increased its position in Ready Capital by 75.0% in the second quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 27,249,233 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $307,371,000 after buying an additional 11,675,364 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Ready Capital by 7.1% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 11,163,763 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $114,429,000 after purchasing an additional 735,949 shares during the period. State Street Corp increased its holdings in shares of Ready Capital by 66.3% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 5,798,238 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $66,212,000 after purchasing an additional 2,312,011 shares during the period. Waterfall Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ready Capital during the fourth quarter valued at $40,067,000. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Ready Capital by 90.2% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,129,990 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $35,306,000 after purchasing an additional 1,484,317 shares during the period. 55.87% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.