Ready Capital (NYSE:RC) Hits New 52-Week Low at $8.26

Ready Capital Co. (NYSE:RC - Get Free Report) shares hit a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $8.26 and last traded at $8.30, with a volume of 1541965 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $8.80.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on RC. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued an "underperform" rating and set a $8.00 price target (down previously from $10.00) on shares of Ready Capital in a report on Monday, March 4th. B. Riley reissued a "buy" rating and set a $12.00 price target (down previously from $13.00) on shares of Ready Capital in a report on Monday, March 4th. UBS Group reduced their price objective on shares of Ready Capital from $10.50 to $9.50 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 20th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Ready Capital from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, March 4th. Finally, Raymond James downgraded shares of Ready Capital from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a report on Monday, December 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $11.08.

Ready Capital Stock Down 5.8 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 1.89 and a quick ratio of 1.89. The firm has a market cap of $1.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 3.54 and a beta of 1.40. The firm's fifty day moving average is $8.92 and its two-hundred day moving average is $9.70.

Ready Capital Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 30th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 28th will be issued a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 14.48%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 27th. Ready Capital's payout ratio is 51.28%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ready Capital

In other Ready Capital news, Director Gilbert E. Nathan purchased 10,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 14th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $8.65 per share, with a total value of $86,500.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 83,099 shares of the company's stock, valued at $718,806.35. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, Director Kevin M. Luebbers acquired 5,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction 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 acquisition, the director now owns 119,925 shares in the company, valued at $1,010,967.75. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Gilbert E. Nathan acquired 10,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 14th. The shares were bought at an average price of $8.65 per share, for a total transaction of $86,500.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 83,099 shares in the company, valued at approximately $718,806.35. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last three months, insiders acquired 17,150 shares of company stock valued at $148,280. 0.95% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Ready Capital

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. BlackRock Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Ready Capital by 75.0% in the 2nd quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 27,249,233 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $307,371,000 after purchasing an additional 11,675,364 shares during the period. Waterfall Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ready Capital in the 4th quarter valued at about $40,067,000. State Street Corp increased its holdings in shares of Ready Capital by 66.3% in the 2nd 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. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Ready Capital by 90.2% in the 2nd 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. Finally, Balyasny Asset Management L.P. acquired a new position in shares of Ready Capital in the 4th quarter valued at about $13,532,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 55.87% of the company's stock.

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.