Ready Capital (NYSE:RC) Given New $5.00 Price Target at UBS Group

Ready Capital (NYSE:RC) had its price objective lowered by UBS Group from $7.00 to $5.00 in a report released on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. UBS Group currently has a neutral rating on the real estate investment trust’s stock.

RC has been the subject of a number of other reports. Wedbush reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $6.00 price target (down from $8.00) on shares of Ready Capital in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. B. Riley reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $10.00 price target (down previously from $12.00) on shares of Ready Capital in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their target price on Ready Capital from $6.25 to $4.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. JMP Securities dropped their price target on Ready Capital from $10.50 to $9.50 and set a “market outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Citizens Jmp downgraded shares of Ready Capital from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. One 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. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $7.50.

Ready Capital Stock Performance

RC opened at $5.02 on Friday. Ready Capital has a 1-year low of $4.74 and a 1-year high of $9.53. The company has a market capitalization of $818.20 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -7.16 and a beta of 1.43. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $6.42 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $7.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 1.67 and a quick ratio of 1.67.

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 $0.125 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $0.50 annualized dividend and a yield of 9.97%. Ready Capital’s dividend payout ratio is presently -18.94%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ready Capital

In other news, CEO Thomas E. Capasse purchased 10,000 shares of Ready Capital stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $4.80 per share, for a total transaction of $48,000.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 319,925 shares in the company, valued at $1,535,640. This represents a 3.23 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 1.09% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ready Capital

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in RC. Sterling Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Ready Capital by 822.8% during the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 5,177 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 4,616 shares during the last quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC boosted its holdings in Ready Capital by 3,075.0% in the fourth quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 6,350 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 6,150 shares in the last quarter. Avion Wealth bought a new position in Ready Capital during the fourth quarter valued at about $47,000. KBC Group NV boosted its stake in shares of Ready Capital by 64.1% during the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 8,318 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $63,000 after acquiring an additional 3,248 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ausdal Financial Partners Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Ready Capital during the 4th quarter valued at about $68,000. Institutional investors 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.