Head-To-Head Survey: Blackstone Mortgage Trust (NYSE:BXMT) vs. Ladder Capital (NYSE:LADR)

Blackstone Mortgage Trust (NYSE:BXMT) and Ladder Capital (NYSE:LADR) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the superior business? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their dividends, earnings, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, risk, profitability and valuation.

Dividends

Blackstone Mortgage Trust pays an annual dividend of $1.88 per share and has a dividend yield of 16.9%. Ladder Capital pays an annual dividend of $0.92 per share and has a dividend yield of 10.3%. Blackstone Mortgage Trust pays out -84.3% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Ladder Capital pays out 115.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Blackstone Mortgage Trust is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

64.2% of Blackstone Mortgage Trust shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 62.3% of Ladder Capital shares are held by institutional investors. 1.2% of Blackstone Mortgage Trust shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 12.6% of Ladder Capital shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Profitability

This table compares Blackstone Mortgage Trust and Ladder Capital’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Blackstone Mortgage Trust	-48.18%	9.17%	1.56%
Ladder Capital	23.70%	6.98%	1.81%

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Blackstone Mortgage Trust and Ladder Capital”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Blackstone Mortgage Trust	$1.36 billion	1.36	$109.57 million	($2.23)	-5.00
Ladder Capital	$390.29 million	2.87	$64.18 million	$0.80	11.13

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

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent ratings and price targets for Blackstone Mortgage Trust and Ladder Capital, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Blackstone Mortgage Trust	1	4	4	0	2.33
Ladder Capital	0	3	4	0	2.57

Blackstone Mortgage Trust presently has a consensus price target of $17.00, indicating a potential upside of 52.41%. Ladder Capital has a consensus price target of $12.29, indicating a potential upside of 37.96%. Given Blackstone Mortgage Trust’s higher possible upside, equities analysts plainly believe Blackstone Mortgage Trust is more favorable than Ladder Capital.

Volatility and Risk

Blackstone Mortgage Trust has a beta of 0.9, indicating that its share price is 10% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Ladder Capital has a beta of 0.96, indicating that its share price is 4% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Ladder Capital beats Blackstone Mortgage Trust on 8 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Blackstone Mortgage Trust

Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc., a real estate finance company, originates senior loans collateralized by commercial properties in North America, Europe, and Australia. The company originates and acquires senior floating rate mortgage loans that are secured by a first-priority mortgage on commercial real estate assets. It operates as a real estate investment trust for federal income tax purposes. The company was formerly known as Capital Trust, Inc. and changed its name to Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. in May 2013. Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. was incorporated in 1998 and is headquartered in New York, New York.

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. It also invests in note purchase financings, subordinated debt, mezzanine debt, and other structured finance products related to commercial real estate. The Securities segment invests in commercial mortgage-backed securities, U.S. treasury and agency, corporate bonds, and equity securities. The Real Estate segment owns and invests in a portfolio of commercial and residential real estate properties, such as leased properties, office buildings, student housing portfolios, hotels, industrial buildings, shopping center, and condominium units. The company qualifies as a real estate investment trust for federal income tax purposes. It generally 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 founded in 2008 and is headquartered in New York, New York.