Ready Capital (NYSE:RC) Sets New 52-Week Low – Time to Sell?

Ready Capital Co. (NYSE:RC)’s stock price reached a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as low as $5.27 and last traded at $5.19, with a volume of 1391272 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $6.93.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. Wedbush reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $6.00 price objective (down previously from $8.00) on shares of Ready Capital in a research note on Tuesday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price target on Ready Capital from $6.25 to $4.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Citizens Jmp downgraded Ready Capital from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday. UBS Group cut their target price on Ready Capital from $8.50 to $7.50 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, JMP Securities lowered their price target on Ready Capital from $10.50 to $9.50 and set a “market outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, December 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ready Capital has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $7.86.

Ready Capital Stock Up 0.1 %

The company has a market cap of $835.07 million, a PE ratio of -7.08 and a beta of 1.43. The company has a fifty day moving average of $6.73 and a two-hundred day moving average of $7.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 1.67 and a current ratio of 1.67.

Ready Capital Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.125 per share. 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 10.09%. Ready Capital’s dividend payout ratio is presently -142.86%.

Institutional Trading of Ready Capital

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in RC. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System increased its stake in Ready Capital by 4.0% in the third quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 81,300 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $620,000 after purchasing an additional 3,100 shares during the period. State of Alaska Department of Revenue increased its stake in Ready Capital by 5.2% in the 3rd quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 95,992 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $732,000 after buying an additional 4,775 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its stake in Ready Capital by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 1,366,040 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $9,508,000 after buying an additional 23,970 shares during the period. United Advisor Group LLC bought a new stake in Ready Capital during the 3rd quarter valued at about $151,000. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in Ready Capital by 3.3% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 792,536 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $6,047,000 after buying an additional 25,545 shares during the period. 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.