Phocas Financial Corp. Cuts Stock Holdings in Ladder Capital Corp (NYSE:LADR)

Phocas Financial Corp. lowered its position in Ladder Capital Corp (NYSE:LADR) by 85.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 74,121 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 422,883 shares during the period. Phocas Financial Corp.’s holdings in Ladder Capital were worth $829,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in LADR. Jane Street Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Ladder Capital by 1,089.1% during the 3rd quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 1,528,802 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $17,734,000 after buying an additional 1,400,238 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC increased its position in shares of Ladder Capital by 28.3% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 205,403 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $2,382,000 after acquiring an additional 45,294 shares during the last quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ladder Capital during the third quarter valued at approximately $6,907,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC bought a new stake in Ladder Capital during the fourth quarter worth $4,323,000. Finally, Stifel Financial Corp boosted its position in Ladder Capital by 196.3% in the third quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 165,768 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,923,000 after purchasing an additional 109,816 shares during the last quarter. 62.25% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

LADR has been the subject of several research analyst reports. StockNews.com lowered Ladder Capital from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price objective on shares of Ladder Capital from $13.00 to $12.75 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, B. Riley upgraded shares of Ladder Capital to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ladder Capital currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $13.29.

Ladder Capital Stock Performance

Shares of LADR stock opened at $11.68 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $11.31 and its 200 day moving average is $11.56. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.58 and a beta of 1.92. Ladder Capital Corp has a 12 month low of $10.20 and a 12 month high of $12.48. The company has a current ratio of 38.96, a quick ratio of 38.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.05.

Ladder Capital (NYSE:LADR) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.29 by ($0.04). Ladder Capital had a return on equity of 8.77% and a net margin of 21.36%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Ladder Capital Corp will post 1.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Ladder Capital Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st were issued a dividend of $0.23 per share. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.88%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 31st. Ladder Capital’s payout ratio is presently 106.98%.

About Ladder Capital

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.