Ready Capital Target of Unusually Large Options Trading (NYSE:RC)

Ready Capital Co. (NYSE:RC – Get Rating) was the target of unusually large options trading activity on Wednesday. Stock investors bought 7,570 put options on the company. This represents an increase of 3,235% compared to the average volume of 227 put options.

Ready Capital Stock Performance

Shares of RC stock opened at $11.08 on Thursday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $12.29 and a 200-day moving average of $12.26. The company has a market cap of $1.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.52 and a beta of 1.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 1.37 and a quick ratio of 1.37. Ready Capital has a one year low of $9.69 and a one year high of $15.92.

Ready Capital (NYSE:RC – Get Rating) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 27th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.42 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.41 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $249.49 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $73.45 million. Ready Capital had a net margin of 27.22% and a return on equity of 11.52%. Equities research analysts forecast that Ready Capital will post 1.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ready Capital Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, January 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 30th were given a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, December 29th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 14.44%. Ready Capital’s dividend payout ratio is presently 94.12%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on RC shares. Piper Sandler lowered their price objective on shares of Ready Capital from $13.00 to $12.50 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 28th. StockNews.com raised shares of Ready Capital from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, November 17th. Raymond James boosted their target price on shares of Ready Capital from $13.50 to $14.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, November 17th. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Ready Capital from $11.00 to $11.50 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 21st. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered shares of Ready Capital from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and set a $13.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Thursday, December 15th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $14.07.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Dominique Mielle acquired 7,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 3rd. The stock was bought at an average price of $14.15 per share, with a total value of $106,125.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 35,988 shares in the company, valued at approximately $509,230.20. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 1.64% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ready Capital

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in RC. Meeder Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in Ready Capital by 86.7% during the second quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,533 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 1,176 shares during the period. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV bought a new position in shares of Ready Capital in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Wolverine Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Ready Capital in the third quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Ready Capital in the second quarter valued at approximately $67,000. Finally, US Bancorp DE boosted its position in shares of Ready Capital by 575.6% in the second quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 7,269 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $87,000 after acquiring an additional 6,193 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 62.84% of the company’s stock.

Ready Capital Company Profile

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Ready Capital Corp. is a real estate finance company, which engages in acquiring, managing, and financing small balance commercial loans. It operates through the following segments: Acquisitions, SBC Originations, SBA Originations, Acquisitions & Servicing, and Residential Mortgage Banking. The Acquisitions segment acquires performing and non-performing SBC loans and intends to continue to acquire these loans as part of the company’s business strategy.