Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Takes $812,000 Position in Ready Capital Co. (NYSE:RC)

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System purchased a new stake in Ready Capital Co. (NYSE:RC) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 79,200 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock, valued at approximately $812,000.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in RC. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its holdings in Ready Capital by 112.0% in the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 7,645 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $77,000 after acquiring an additional 4,039 shares during the last quarter. Denali Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Ready Capital in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $102,000. Anfield Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Ready Capital in the third quarter valued at approximately $103,000. Wolverine Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in Ready Capital by 23.2% in the third quarter. Wolverine Asset Management LLC now owns 10,605 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $107,000 after acquiring an additional 2,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jump Financial LLC acquired a new position in Ready Capital in the third quarter valued at approximately $110,000. 55.87% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently commented on RC. UBS Group decreased their price objective on Ready Capital from $10.50 to $9.50 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 20th. StockNews.com cut Ready Capital from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, March 4th. B. Riley restated a “buy” rating and set a $12.00 price target (down from $13.00) on shares of Ready Capital in a research note on Monday, March 4th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated an “underperform” rating and set a $8.00 price target (down from $10.00) on shares of Ready Capital in a research note on Monday, March 4th. Finally, BTIG Research decreased their price target on Ready Capital from $12.00 to $10.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $10.93.

Ready Capital Stock Up 1.8 %

Shares of NYSE RC opened at $8.86 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $1.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 3.72 and a beta of 1.40. The company has a current ratio of 1.89, a quick ratio of 1.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44. Ready Capital Co. has a 12-month low of $8.25 and a 12-month high of $11.97. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $8.81 and its 200-day simple moving average is $9.59.

Ready Capital Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 30th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 28th will be paid a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 13.55%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 27th. Ready Capital’s payout ratio is currently 51.28%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Kevin M. Luebbers acquired 5,000 shares of Ready Capital stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 5th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $8.43 per share, for a total transaction of $42,150.00. Following the completion of the purchase, 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 this hyperlink. In other Ready Capital news, Director Kevin M. Luebbers bought 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 5th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $8.43 per share, with a total value of $42,150.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 119,925 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,010,967.75. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Gilbert E. Nathan bought 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 14th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $8.65 per share, for a total transaction of $86,500.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 83,099 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $718,806.35. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have purchased 17,150 shares of company stock worth $148,280. Corporate insiders own 0.95% 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.