Principal Financial Group Inc. Reduces Position in Ladder Capital Corp (NYSE:LADR)

Principal Financial Group Inc. cut its holdings in Ladder Capital Corp (NYSE:LADR - Free Report) by 6.4% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,756,946 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 119,200 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 1.38% of Ladder Capital worth $20,047,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Ladder Capital by 2.8% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,678,115 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $18,778,000 after buying an additional 45,040 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Ladder Capital by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,680,014 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $18,799,000 after buying an additional 39,695 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Ladder Capital during the fourth quarter valued at about $7,981,000. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. increased its position in shares of Ladder Capital by 35.1% during the fourth quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 1,777,974 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $19,896,000 after buying an additional 461,739 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE increased its position in shares of 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. 62.25% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Ladder Capital Price Performance

Shares of LADR stock traded down $0.06 during trading on Friday, hitting $11.11. The company had a trading volume of 1,158,975 shares, compared to its average volume of 673,858. The company has a quick ratio of 48.71, a current ratio of 48.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.83. The stock's 50-day moving average is $10.65 and its two-hundred day moving average is $10.96. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.34 and a beta of 1.00. Ladder Capital Corp has a 52 week low of $9.68 and a 52 week high of $12.48.

Ladder Capital (NYSE:LADR - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 company had revenue of $51.20 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $65.15 million. Ladder Capital had a return on equity of 7.82% and a net margin of 21.81%. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.33 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Ladder Capital Corp will post 1.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ladder Capital Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Monday, June 30th will be given a $0.23 dividend. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 8.28%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 30th. Ladder Capital's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 112.20%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

LADR has been the topic of several analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on Ladder Capital from $11.50 to $11.75 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday. Wall Street Zen cut Ladder Capital from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Saturday, July 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $13.15.

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.