Bank of America Corp DE Grows Position in Ladder Capital Corp (NYSE:LADR)

Bank of America Corp DE grew its stake in Ladder Capital Corp (NYSE:LADR - Free Report) by 18.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 367,430 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after acquiring an additional 57,766 shares during the quarter. Bank of America Corp DE owned 0.29% of Ladder Capital worth $4,112,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in LADR. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in Ladder Capital by 77.6% in the fourth 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. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Ladder Capital during the fourth quarter valued at $7,981,000. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Ladder Capital during the fourth quarter valued at $5,764,000. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Ladder Capital by 98.9% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 832,848 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $9,320,000 after purchasing an additional 414,135 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC bought a new position in shares of Ladder Capital during the fourth quarter valued at $4,323,000. 62.25% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Ladder Capital Stock Performance

Ladder Capital stock traded up $0.01 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $10.52. 1,004,766 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 652,928. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.05, a current ratio of 38.96 and a quick ratio of 38.96. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $10.50 and its 200-day moving average price is $11.16. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.23 and a beta of 1.01. Ladder Capital Corp has a 1 year low of $9.68 and a 1 year high of $12.48.

Ladder Capital (NYSE:LADR - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $65.15 million. Ladder Capital had a net margin of 21.36% and a return on equity of 8.77%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.33 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Ladder Capital Corp will post 1.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ladder Capital Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st were given a $0.23 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 31st. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 8.75%. Ladder Capital's dividend payout ratio is presently 112.20%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

LADR has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price target on Ladder Capital from $12.75 to $12.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 7th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Ladder Capital from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, February 24th. Two 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $13.17.

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.