Vanguard Group Inc. Grows Stock Holdings in Ready Capital Co. (NYSE:RC)

Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Ready Capital Co. (NYSE:RC) by 7.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 11,366,828 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after purchasing an additional 768,891 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned approximately 0.07% of Ready Capital worth $77,522,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in RC. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ready Capital by 3,075.0% during 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 during the period. Avion Wealth purchased a new position in Ready Capital during the fourth quarter worth approximately $47,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ready Capital in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $69,000. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Ready Capital during the 4th quarter worth $73,000. Finally, Ieq Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ready Capital during the 4th quarter valued at about $99,000. 55.87% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Ready Capital

In related news, insider Adam Zausmer bought 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $5.42 per share, with a total value of $54,200.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider now owns 301,105 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,631,989.10. This represents a 3.44 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 1.09% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Ready Capital Trading Down 6.9 %

Shares of RC stock opened at $4.51 on Friday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $5.63 and its 200 day moving average price is $6.60. The firm has a market capitalization of $774.09 million, a PE ratio of -6.44 and a beta of 1.23. 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 Co. has a 1-year low of $4.38 and a 1-year high of $9.54.

Ready Capital Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a $0.125 dividend. 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 11.10%. Ready Capital’s dividend payout ratio is presently -18.94%.

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.