Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC Purchases 24,701 Shares of Ladder Capital Corp $LADR

Key Points

• Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC increased its stake in Ladder Capital Corp by 3.9%, owning 662,075 shares valued at approximately $7.55 million at the end of the last reporting period.
• Analysts have varied perspectives on Ladder Capital, with Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raising their price target to $12.00 while Wall Street Zen downgraded the stock from "hold" to "sell."
• Ladder Capital recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.23 per share, resulting in an annualized yield of 8.2%, although its payout ratio stands at an unusually high 131.43%.

Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Ladder Capital Corp (NYSE:LADR - Free Report) by 3.9% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 662,075 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after buying an additional 24,701 shares during the quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC owned about 0.52% of Ladder Capital worth $7,554,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in LADR. Wells Fargo & Company MN raised its holdings in shares of Ladder Capital by 19.6% in the fourth quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 107,806 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $1,206,000 after buying an additional 17,689 shares during the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC bought a new stake in Ladder Capital during the 4th quarter worth about $979,000. Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in Ladder Capital by 2.9% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 507,630 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $5,680,000 after purchasing an additional 14,521 shares during the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC bought a new stake in Ladder Capital during the 4th quarter worth about $1,911,000. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Ladder Capital during the 4th quarter worth about $7,981,000. 62.25% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Mark David Alexander sold 26,795 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $10.86, for a total transaction of $290,993.70. Following the sale, the director owned 29,229 shares in the company, valued at $317,426.94. This represents a 47.83% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. In the last quarter, insiders sold 91,382 shares of company stock worth $1,003,501. Corporate insiders own 12.00% of the company's stock.

Ladder Capital Stock Down 0.8%

Shares of LADR traded down $0.0950 on Thursday, hitting $11.1950. The company's stock had a trading volume of 152,233 shares, compared to its average volume of 661,556. 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 firm's fifty day moving average price is $10.98 and its 200-day moving average price is $10.95. Ladder Capital Corp has a fifty-two week low of $9.68 and a fifty-two week high of $12.36. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.99, a P/E/G ratio of 9.56 and a beta of 1.03.

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 for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.22 by $0.01. Ladder Capital had a return on equity of 7.07% and a net margin of 20.05%.The firm had revenue of $56.26 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $58.57 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.31 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Ladder Capital Corp will post 1.03 EPS for the current year.

Ladder Capital Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 30th were paid a dividend of $0.23 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 30th. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 8.2%. Ladder Capital's dividend payout ratio is currently 131.43%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have weighed in on the company. Wall Street Zen cut Ladder Capital from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Saturday, July 26th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on Ladder Capital from $11.75 to $12.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, July 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and two have assigned a Buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $12.75.

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.