Ladder Capital Corp (NYSE:LADR) Given Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Ladder Capital Corp (NYSE:LADR) has been assigned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the six research firms that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation and five have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $13.33.

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and set a $13.50 price target on shares of Ladder Capital in a research note on Friday, August 30th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on shares of Ladder Capital from $12.50 to $13.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th.

Ladder Capital Price Performance

Shares of NYSE LADR opened at $11.87 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $11.50 and a 200 day moving average price of $11.54. The firm has a market cap of $1.51 billion, a PE ratio of 15.61 and a beta of 1.94. The company has a current ratio of 54.44, a quick ratio of 54.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.34. Ladder Capital has a 1-year low of $10.10 and a 1-year high of $12.48.

Ladder Capital (NYSE:LADR) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.30 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.26 by $0.04. Ladder Capital had a return on equity of 9.14% and a net margin of 18.90%. The company had revenue of $128.64 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $60.85 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.28 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Ladder Capital will post 1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ladder Capital Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 30th were given a dividend of $0.23 per share. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.75%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 30th. Ladder Capital’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 121.05%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Robert Perelman sold 25,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $12.15, for a total value of $303,750.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 351,453 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,270,153.95. This trade represents a 6.64 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, President Pamela Mccormack sold 50,000 shares of Ladder Capital stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $12.25, for a total value of $612,500.00. Following the transaction, the president now owns 548,863 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,723,571.75. This represents a 8.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 12.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in LADR. Boston Partners acquired a new stake in shares of Ladder Capital during the 1st quarter worth $787,000. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its holdings in Ladder Capital by 32.3% in the 2nd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 1,091,288 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $12,321,000 after buying an additional 266,693 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Ladder Capital by 5.0% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,020,143 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $23,434,000 after buying an additional 96,573 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ladder Capital by 12.8% during the 1st quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC now owns 27,936 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $311,000 after acquiring an additional 3,161 shares during the period. Finally, Millennium Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Ladder Capital by 92.0% during the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 737,970 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $8,332,000 after acquiring an additional 353,530 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 62.25% of the company’s stock.

Ladder Capital Company Profile

Ladder Capital Corp operates as an internally-managed real estate investment trust in the United States. It operates through three segments: Loans, Securities, and Real Estate. The Loans segment originates conduit first mortgage loans that are secured by cash-flowing commercial real estate; and originates and invests in balance sheet first mortgage loans secured by commercial real estate properties that are undergoing transition, including lease-up, sell-out, and renovation or repositioning.