BTIG Research Initiates Coverage on Ready Capital (NYSE:RC)

BTIG Research assumed coverage on shares of Ready Capital (NYSE:RC) in a report published on Friday morning, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The brokerage issued a neutral rating on the real estate investment trust’s stock.

Separately, LADENBURG THALM/SH SH downgraded Ready Capital from a buy rating to a neutral rating in a research note on Friday, May 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ready Capital has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $10.93.

Ready Capital Trading Down 0.2 %

RC opened at $9.36 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $1.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.81 and a beta of 1.43. The company has a current ratio of 1.76, a quick ratio of 1.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. Ready Capital has a 12 month low of $7.93 and a 12 month high of $11.94. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $8.52 and a 200-day moving average price of $8.86.

Ready Capital (NYSE:RC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 8th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.29 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.28 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $232.35 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $64.34 million. Ready Capital had a return on equity of 8.11% and a net margin of 23.81%. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.31 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Ready Capital will post 1.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ready Capital Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 28th will be paid a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 28th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 12.82%. Ready Capital’s payout ratio is presently 74.53%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ready Capital

In other news, Director Gilbert E. Nathan purchased 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 24th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $8.29 per share, for a total transaction of $82,900.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 95,249 shares in the company, valued at $789,614.21. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 1.09% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ready Capital

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Waterfall Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Ready Capital in the 4th quarter worth about $40,067,000. Jump Financial LLC grew its position in shares of Ready Capital by 106.7% in the fourth quarter. Jump Financial LLC now owns 22,516 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $231,000 after purchasing an additional 11,625 shares in the last quarter. Norden Group LLC grew its position in shares of Ready Capital by 773.1% in the first quarter. Norden Group LLC now owns 128,163 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,170,000 after purchasing an additional 113,484 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Ready Capital by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,300,267 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $13,328,000 after purchasing an additional 30,730 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Ready Capital by 7.1% in 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 in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 55.87% of the company’s stock.

About Ready Capital

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.