Short Interest in Rithm Capital Corp. (NYSE:RITM) Expands By 30.2%

Rithm Capital Corp. (NYSE:RITM) saw a large increase in short interest during the month of February. As of February 13th, there was short interest totaling 12,351,438 shares, an increase of 30.2% from the January 29th total of 9,488,012 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 11,005,198 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.1 days. Currently, 2.2% of the shares of the company are sold short. Currently, 2.2% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 11,005,198 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.1 days.

Rithm Capital Stock Up 0.4%

Rithm Capital stock traded up $0.04 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $10.09. 11,576,942 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 9,381,053. Rithm Capital has a 1-year low of $9.13 and a 1-year high of $12.74. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $11.02 and a two-hundred day moving average of $11.31. The stock has a market cap of $5.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.71 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a current ratio of 0.58, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.20.

Rithm Capital (NYSE:RITM) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 3rd. The real estate investment trust reported $0.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.55 by $0.19. Rithm Capital had a return on equity of 19.74% and a net margin of 15.55%.The firm had revenue of $1.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.24 billion. As a group, analysts anticipate that Rithm Capital will post 1.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Rithm Capital Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 30th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 31st were issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 9.9%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, December 31st. Rithm Capital’s dividend payout ratio is 96.15%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Rithm Capital

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in RITM. Curi Capital LLC increased its position in Rithm Capital by 0.7% in the 2nd quarter. Curi Capital LLC now owns 120,262 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,358,000 after buying an additional 829 shares during the period. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Rithm Capital by 14.3% during the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 7,031 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $81,000 after buying an additional 881 shares during the period. City Holding Co. increased its position in shares of Rithm Capital by 35.1% during the 4th quarter. City Holding Co. now owns 3,850 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 1,000 shares in the last quarter. Westbourne Investment Advisors Inc. increased its position in Rithm Capital by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. Westbourne Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 55,500 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $605,000 after acquiring an additional 1,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fort Sheridan Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Rithm Capital by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Fort Sheridan Advisors LLC now owns 367,164 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $4,002,000 after purchasing an additional 1,000 shares during the period. 44.92% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently commented on the company. UBS Group set a $15.00 target price on Rithm Capital in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $15.00 price objective (down from $15.50) on shares of Rithm Capital in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Rithm Capital in a report on Thursday, December 18th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Rithm Capital in a report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Wedbush assumed coverage on shares of Rithm Capital in a report on Monday, December 15th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $14.00 target price on the stock. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $14.50.

About Rithm Capital

Rithm Capital Corporation is a specialty finance company that originates, acquires and manages structured credit investments collateralized by real estate assets in the United States. The company focuses primarily on senior floating-rate loans secured by multifamily, commercial, industrial and single-family rental properties, aiming to deliver attractive risk-adjusted yields through a diversified portfolio of floating-rate real estate debt.

In addition to senior loans, Rithm Capital invests in residential mortgage-backed securities, including agency and non-agency pools, as well as other real estate-related credit instruments.