Principal Financial Group Inc. Increases Position in Ready Capital Co. (NYSE:RC)

Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Ready Capital Co. (NYSE:RC) by 3.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 816,942 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after purchasing an additional 24,406 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.48% of Ready Capital worth $5,572,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in RC. Wolverine Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Ready Capital by 2,902.2% during the third quarter. Wolverine Asset Management LLC now owns 402,291 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $3,069,000 after buying an additional 388,891 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC grew its holdings in shares of Ready Capital by 205.9% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 484,986 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $3,699,000 after buying an additional 326,467 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its holdings in shares of Ready Capital by 4.8% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 6,315,147 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $49,746,000 after buying an additional 287,068 shares during the last quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Ready Capital by 99.5% during the third quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 399,401 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $3,047,000 after buying an additional 199,202 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Ready Capital by 11.7% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,868,580 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $14,257,000 after buying an additional 195,663 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 55.87% of the company’s stock.

Ready Capital Stock Down 27.0 %

RC opened at $5.06 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.67, a quick ratio of 1.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. Ready Capital Co. has a 1-year low of $4.78 and a 1-year high of $9.53. The company has a market capitalization of $852.77 million, a PE ratio of -7.23 and a beta of 1.43. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $6.83 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $7.27.

Ready Capital Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a $0.125 dividend. This represents a $0.50 annualized dividend and a yield of 9.88%. Ready Capital’s payout ratio is presently -142.86%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. JMP Securities lowered their price objective on shares of Ready Capital from $10.50 to $9.50 and set a “market outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. B. Riley restated a “neutral” rating and set a $10.00 price objective (down previously from $12.00) on shares of Ready Capital in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Citizens Jmp downgraded shares of Ready Capital from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday. UBS Group lowered their price objective on shares of Ready Capital from $8.50 to $7.50 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price objective on shares of Ready Capital from $6.75 to $6.25 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $8.61.

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.