Keefe, Bruyette & Woods Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Ready Capital (NYSE:RC) Stock

Ready Capital (NYSE:RC - Get Free Report) had its target price lifted by research analysts at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $3.75 to $4.25 in a report released on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an "underperform" rating on the real estate investment trust's stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods' target price would suggest a potential downside of 4.39% from the stock's previous close.

Separately, UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of Ready Capital from $4.75 to $4.50 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $7.04.

Ready Capital Stock Down 3.2%

Shares of NYSE RC traded down $0.15 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $4.45. 1,156,868 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,183,164. Ready Capital has a 1-year low of $3.93 and a 1-year high of $9.54. The stock has a market cap of $757.92 million, a P/E ratio of -2.55 and a beta of 1.43. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $4.41 and a 200 day simple moving average of $5.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 1.78 and a quick ratio of 1.78.

Ready Capital (NYSE:RC - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The real estate investment trust reported ($0.09) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.12 by ($0.21). Ready Capital had a positive return on equity of 5.53% and a negative net margin of 34.40%. The firm had revenue of $40.24 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $212.33 million. On average, analysts expect that Ready Capital will post 0.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its stake in Ready Capital by 7.0% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,166,296 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $7,954,000 after purchasing an additional 76,788 shares in the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ready Capital during the 4th quarter valued at $69,000. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC lifted its holdings in shares of 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 valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 6,150 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Ready Capital by 21.3% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,266,585 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $15,458,000 after purchasing an additional 398,005 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Ready Capital during the fourth quarter worth $1,839,000. Hedge funds and other 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.