Ladder Capital (NYSE:LADR) Issues Quarterly Earnings Results, Hits Estimates

Ladder Capital (NYSE:LADR) announced its earnings results on Thursday. The real estate investment trust reported $0.24 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.24, FiscalAI reports. The firm had revenue of $57.76 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $56.50 million. Ladder Capital had a return on equity of 5.73% and a net margin of 13.82%.During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.23 EPS.

Here are the key takeaways from Ladder Capital’s conference call:

• Ladder reported distributable earnings of $30.8 million, or $0.24 per share, and said the quarter reflected strong origination activity and continued earnings growth.
• The company continued rotating capital into higher-yielding loans, originating $1.2 billion year-to-date and bringing balance-sheet loans to about 50% of total assets. Management expects this shift to lift net interest income over time.
• Ladder emphasized its balance-sheet strength, with 2.3x adjusted leverage, $1.1 billion of liquidity, and a predominantly unsecured funding profile. S&P also revised its outlook to positive, moving the company closer to investment-grade across all agencies.
• The company repurchased $8 million of stock in the quarter at a price well below book value, and management said it will keep buying back shares opportunistically while the stock trades at a discount. They also reiterated a $0.23 per share dividend.
• Credit quality remained manageable, though Ladder added one office loan to non-accrual and resolved another office loan through foreclosure. Management said the $47 million CECL reserve remains sufficient and expects the non-accrual to be resolved by the fourth quarter.

Ladder Capital Stock Down 2.3%

NYSE:LADR traded down $0.23 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $9.53. 427,166 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 862,328. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.21 billion, a PE ratio of 21.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 0.95. Ladder Capital has a 12-month low of $9.53 and a 12-month high of $11.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.79, a quick ratio of 58.90 and a current ratio of 58.90. The business has a 50-day moving average of $10.06 and a two-hundred day moving average of $10.28.

Ladder Capital Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 30th were paid a dividend of $0.23 per share. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 9.7%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 30th. Ladder Capital’s payout ratio is 209.09%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

LADR has been the topic of several recent research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price target on Ladder Capital from $11.50 to $11.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 8th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Ladder Capital from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Ladder Capital from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 2nd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $12.75.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ladder Capital

In other news, insider Robert Perelman sold 17,505 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $10.25, for a total transaction of $179,426.25. Following the transaction, the insider owned 428,684 shares in the company, valued at $4,394,011. This represents a 3.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 12.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ladder Capital

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Ladder Capital by 111.7% in the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 22,189 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $253,000 after buying an additional 11,709 shares during the last quarter. Caxton Associates LLP purchased a new position in Ladder Capital during the first quarter valued at approximately $209,000. Jane Street Group LLC boosted its holdings in Ladder Capital by 997.0% during the first quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 180,230 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $2,056,000 after buying an additional 163,800 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Ladder Capital in the second quarter valued at $1,133,000. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP acquired a new position in shares of Ladder Capital in the second quarter worth about $183,000. 62.25% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Ladder Capital

Ladder Capital Corp (NYSE: LADR) is a publicly traded commercial real estate finance company structured as a real estate investment trust. The firm specializes in originating, acquiring and managing a diversified portfolio of commercial mortgage loans, subordinate financings such as mezzanine loans and B-notes, and equity investments. In addition to direct lending activities, Ladder Capital invests in and manages commercial mortgage?backed securities (CMBS) and commercial real estate collateralized loan obligations (CRE CLOs), providing financing across a range of property types including office, retail, multifamily, industrial and hospitality assets.

Since its inception in 2008, Ladder Capital has developed a platform that supports both balance-sheet lending and structured securitization.