23,512 Shares in Ladder Capital Corp $LADR Purchased by Aristeia Capital L.L.C.

Key Points

• Aristeia Capital has invested $268,000 in Ladder Capital Corp, acquiring 23,512 shares in the real estate investment trust during the first quarter.
• A notable percentage, 62.25%, of Ladder Capital's stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds, reflecting strong institutional interest.
• The firm announced a quarterly dividend of $0.23 per share, resulting in an annualized dividend of $0.92 and a yield of 7.8%, despite a high dividend payout ratio of 131.43%.

Aristeia Capital L.L.C. purchased a new stake in shares of Ladder Capital Corp (NYSE:LADR - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 23,512 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock, valued at approximately $268,000.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in LADR. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its position in Ladder Capital by 10.4% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 71,397 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $799,000 after buying an additional 6,714 shares during the period. Algert Global LLC boosted its position in Ladder Capital by 90.8% during the fourth quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 21,913 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $245,000 after buying an additional 10,426 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its position in Ladder Capital by 18.7% during the fourth quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 367,430 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $4,112,000 after buying an additional 57,766 shares during the period. Deutsche Bank AG boosted its position in Ladder Capital by 25.4% during the fourth quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 178,748 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $2,000,000 after buying an additional 36,236 shares during the period. Finally, Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Ladder Capital during the fourth quarter valued at about $1,979,000. 62.25% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Ladder Capital

In related news, Director Mark David Alexander sold 34,587 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $11.12, for a total value of $384,607.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 86,024 shares of the company's stock, valued at $956,586.88. This represents a 28.68% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Insiders have sold 91,382 shares of company stock valued at $1,003,501 over the last ninety days. 12.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

LADR has been the subject of several analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on shares of Ladder Capital from $11.75 to $12.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Ladder Capital from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, August 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and one has assigned a Buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Strong Buy" and a consensus target price of $12.00.

Ladder Capital Trading Down 0.7%

Shares of Ladder Capital stock traded down $0.09 during trading on Friday, reaching $11.66. 457,986 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 498,544. The company has a quick ratio of 31.28, a current ratio of 31.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.86. The stock's fifty day moving average is $11.27 and its 200 day moving average is $10.95. The firm has a market cap of $1.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 9.90 and a beta of 1.09. Ladder Capital Corp has a 1 year low of $9.68 and a 1 year high of $12.25.

Ladder Capital (NYSE:LADR - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.22 by $0.01. Ladder Capital had a net margin of 20.05% and a return on equity of 7.07%. The company had revenue of $56.26 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $58.57 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.31 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Ladder Capital Corp will post 1.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ladder Capital 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.