SITE Centers (NYSE:SITC) versus Ready Capital (NYSE:RC) Critical Contrast

Ready Capital (NYSE:RC) and SITE Centers (NYSE:SITC) are both finance companies, but which is the superior business? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, risk, analyst recommendations, earnings, valuation, profitability and institutional ownership.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

55.9% of Ready Capital shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 88.7% of SITE Centers shares are held by institutional investors. 1.0% of Ready Capital shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 10.1% of SITE Centers shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Volatility & Risk

Ready Capital has a beta of 1.41, indicating that its stock price is 41% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, SITE Centers has a beta of 1.6, indicating that its stock price is 60% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Dividends

Ready Capital pays an annual dividend of $1.20 per share and has a dividend yield of 13.9%. SITE Centers pays an annual dividend of $0.52 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.7%. Ready Capital pays out 51.3% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. SITE Centers pays out 51.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current ratings and price targets for Ready Capital and SITE Centers, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Ready Capital	1	3	2	0	2.17
SITE Centers	0	2	2	0	2.50

Ready Capital currently has a consensus target price of $10.93, indicating a potential upside of 26.20%. SITE Centers has a consensus target price of $14.25, indicating a potential upside of 2.00%. Given Ready Capital’s higher probable upside, research analysts plainly believe Ready Capital is more favorable than SITE Centers.

Profitability

This table compares Ready Capital and SITE Centers’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Ready Capital	35.69%	7.99%	1.54%
SITE Centers	43.36%	11.83%	5.66%

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Ready Capital and SITE Centers’ top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Ready Capital	$945.81 million	1.55	$339.45 million	$2.34	3.70
SITE Centers	$539.46 million	5.43	$265.70 million	$1.02	13.70

Ready Capital has higher revenue and earnings than SITE Centers. Ready Capital is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than SITE Centers, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Summary

SITE Centers beats Ready Capital on 10 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

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. The LMM Commercial Real Estate segment originates LLM loans across the full life-cycle of an LLM property, including construction, bridge, stabilized, and agency loan origination channels. The Small Business Lending segment acquires, originates, and services owner-occupied loans guaranteed by the SBA under its SBA Section 7(a) Program; and acquires purchased future receivables. The company has elected to be taxed as a real estate investment trust (REIT) and would not be subject to federal corporate income taxes if it distributes at least 90% of its taxable income to its stockholders. The company was formerly known as Sutherland Asset Management Corporation and changed its name to Ready Capital Corporation in September 2018. Ready Capital Corporation was founded in 2007 and is headquartered in New York, New York.

About SITE Centers

SITE Centers is an owner and manager of open-air shopping centers located in suburban, high household income communities. The Company is a self-administered and self-managed REIT operating as a fully integrated real estate company, and is publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol SITC.