Aptus Capital Advisors LLC Acquires 85,084 Shares of Ladder Capital Corp (NYSE:LADR)

Aptus Capital Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Ladder Capital Corp (NYSE:LADR - Free Report) by 22.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 461,868 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after acquiring an additional 85,084 shares during the quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC owned 0.36% of Ladder Capital worth $5,168,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Sterling Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Ladder Capital by 816.1% during the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 3,637 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 3,240 shares in the last quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. purchased a new position in Ladder Capital in the 4th quarter valued at $84,000. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ladder Capital during the fourth quarter worth $112,000. Cibc World Markets Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Ladder Capital in the fourth quarter valued at about $119,000. Finally, Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. purchased a new position in shares of Ladder Capital in the fourth quarter worth about $129,000. 62.25% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ladder Capital Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:LADR traded up $0.04 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $10.44. 333,545 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 639,209. The stock has a market cap of $1.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.13 and a beta of 1.01. Ladder Capital Corp has a twelve month low of $9.68 and a twelve month high of $12.48. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $10.88 and a 200-day moving average price of $11.26. 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 - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.20 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.22 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $51.20 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $65.15 million. Ladder Capital had a net margin of 21.36% and a return on equity of 8.77%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.33 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Ladder Capital Corp will post 1.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Ladder Capital Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st were given a $0.23 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 31st. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 8.82%. Ladder Capital's payout ratio is currently 112.20%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have commented on LADR shares. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Ladder Capital from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, February 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price objective on Ladder Capital from $12.75 to $12.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 7th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $13.17.

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.