The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Reduces Holdings in Ready Capital Co. (NYSE:RC)

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company trimmed its holdings in shares of Ready Capital Co. (NYSE:RC) by 3.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 78,126 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 2,967 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company’s holdings in Ready Capital were worth $533,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Sterling Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Ready Capital by 822.8% in the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 5,177 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 4,616 shares during the period. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC grew its stake in Ready Capital by 3,075.0% in the 4th quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 6,350 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $43,000 after acquiring an additional 6,150 shares during the period. Avion Wealth purchased a new stake in Ready Capital in the 4th quarter worth approximately $47,000. Ausdal Financial Partners Inc. purchased a new stake in Ready Capital in the 4th quarter worth approximately $68,000. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Ready Capital in the 4th quarter worth approximately $69,000. 55.87% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have commented on RC. Wedbush reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $6.00 target price (down from $8.00) on shares of Ready Capital in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Citizens Jmp cut shares of Ready Capital from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price target on shares of Ready Capital from $4.00 to $3.75 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. Finally, UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of Ready Capital from $5.00 to $4.75 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $7.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Ready Capital news, CEO Thomas E. Capasse bought 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $4.80 per share, with a total value of $48,000.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 319,925 shares in the company, valued at $1,535,640. The trade was a 3.23% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 1.09% of the company’s stock.

Ready Capital Stock Performance

Shares of RC opened at $4.53 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $779.59 million, a PE ratio of -6.46 and a beta of 1.45. Ready Capital Co. has a one year low of $3.93 and a one year high of $9.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 1.67 and a quick ratio of 1.67. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $4.65 and its 200 day moving average price is $6.09.

Ready Capital (NYSE:RC) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The real estate investment trust reported ($0.09) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.12 by ($0.21). The firm had revenue of $40.24 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $212.33 million. Ready Capital had a positive return on equity of 7.53% and a negative net margin of 11.65%. As a group, analysts expect that Ready Capital Co. will post 0.93 earnings per share for the current year.

Ready Capital Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st were given a $0.125 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 31st. This represents a $0.50 annualized dividend and a yield of 11.05%. Ready Capital’s dividend payout ratio is -28.74%.

Ready Capital 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.