4,464 Shares in Ready Capital Co. (NYSE:RC) Purchased by MCF Advisors LLC

MCF Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Ready Capital Co. (NYSE:RC) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 4,464 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock, valued at approximately $42,000.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Waterfall Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ready Capital in the 4th quarter valued at about $40,067,000. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Ready Capital by 7.1% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 11,163,763 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $114,429,000 after purchasing an additional 735,949 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Ready Capital during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $4,069,000. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its stake in shares of Ready Capital by 11.9% during the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 1,013,596 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $10,389,000 after purchasing an additional 107,501 shares during the period. Finally, Louisiana State Employees Retirement System purchased a new position in shares of Ready Capital during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $812,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 55.87% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Gilbert E. Nathan bought 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 24th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $8.29 per share, for a total transaction of $82,900.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 95,249 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $789,614.21. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 1.09% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have weighed in on RC shares. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH downgraded shares of Ready Capital from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, May 10th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued an “underperform” rating and issued a $8.00 price objective (down from $10.00) on shares of Ready Capital in a report on Monday, March 4th. UBS Group cut their price objective on Ready Capital from $10.50 to $9.50 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 20th. B. Riley reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $12.00 target price (down previously from $13.00) on shares of Ready Capital in a research report on Monday, March 4th. Finally, BTIG Research cut their price target on shares of Ready Capital from $12.00 to $10.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $10.93.

Ready Capital Price Performance

Ready Capital stock opened at $8.18 on Friday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $8.49 and a 200-day simple moving average of $9.09. The company has a quick ratio of 1.76, a current ratio of 1.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.08 and a beta of 1.42. Ready Capital Co. has a 52-week low of $7.93 and a 52-week high of $11.97.

Ready Capital (NYSE:RC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 8th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.28 by $0.01. Ready Capital had a net margin of 23.81% and a return on equity of 8.11%. The company had revenue of $232.35 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $64.34 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.31 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Ready Capital Co. will post 1.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ready Capital Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 31st. Investors of record on Friday, June 28th will be issued a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 14.67%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 28th. Ready Capital’s dividend payout ratio is currently 74.53%.

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.