Ladder Capital Corp $LADR Shares Acquired by FJ Capital Management LLC

Key Points

• FJ Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Ladder Capital Corp by 116.0%, holding 253,990 shares worth approximately $2.9 million.
• Several institutional investors, including MetLife and HSBC, also boosted their positions in Ladder Capital during the last quarter.
• Ladder Capital recently reported an EPS of $0.23 for the quarter and announced a quarterly dividend of $0.23 per share, yielding 7.9%.

FJ Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Ladder Capital Corp (NYSE:LADR - Free Report) by 116.0% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 253,990 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after acquiring an additional 136,405 shares during the period. FJ Capital Management LLC owned approximately 0.20% of Ladder Capital worth $2,898,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Ladder Capital by 0.4% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 11,367,771 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $129,706,000 after acquiring an additional 42,255 shares in the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC lifted its position in Ladder Capital by 2.8% during the 1st quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 6,955,381 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $79,361,000 after acquiring an additional 190,867 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in Ladder Capital by 77.6% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,684,772 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $30,043,000 after acquiring an additional 1,172,961 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in Ladder Capital during the 1st quarter worth approximately $22,261,000. Finally, Balyasny Asset Management L.P. lifted its position in Ladder Capital by 35.1% during the 4th quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 1,777,974 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $19,896,000 after acquiring an additional 461,739 shares in the last quarter. 62.25% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ladder Capital Stock Up 0.3%

LADR traded up $0.03 during trading on Friday, hitting $11.79. The company had a trading volume of 620,517 shares, compared to its average volume of 454,281. The company has a market cap of $1.50 billion, a PE ratio of 16.84, a P/E/G ratio of 10.02 and a beta of 1.09. The business has a 50-day moving average of $11.19 and a 200-day moving average of $10.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.86, a current ratio of 31.28 and a quick ratio of 31.28. 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 posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.22 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $56.26 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $58.57 million. Ladder Capital had a net margin of 20.05% and a return on equity of 7.07%. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.31 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Ladder Capital Corp will post 1.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Ladder Capital Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Monday, June 30th were issued a $0.23 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 30th. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.8%. Ladder Capital's dividend payout ratio is currently 131.43%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently commented on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on Ladder Capital from $11.75 to $12.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Wall Street Zen raised Ladder Capital from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and one has issued a Buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Strong Buy" and a consensus target price of $12.00.

Insider Transactions at Ladder Capital

In related 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 directly owned 29,229 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $317,426.94. This represents a 47.83% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders have sold 91,382 shares of company stock valued at $1,003,501 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 12.00% of the company's stock.

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.