LPL Financial LLC Has $3.23 Million Stock Holdings in Ladder Capital Corp $LADR

Key Points

• LPL Financial LLC has increased its stake in Ladder Capital Corp by 46.1%, acquiring an additional 89,413 shares during the first quarter.
• Despite a recent cut in ratings from Wall Street Zen, Ladder Capital remains attractive, with an earnings per share beat of $0.23 against estimates of $0.22.
• Ladder Capital's dividend yield is currently at 8.2%, and the company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.23 paid on July 15th.

LPL Financial LLC grew its holdings in Ladder Capital Corp (NYSE:LADR - Free Report) by 46.1% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 283,407 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after purchasing an additional 89,413 shares during the period. LPL Financial LLC owned about 0.22% of Ladder Capital worth $3,234,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Ladder Capital in the 1st quarter valued at about $300,000. Allianz Asset Management GmbH increased its holdings in Ladder Capital by 37.8% in the first quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 307,036 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $3,503,000 after buying an additional 84,286 shares during the last quarter. Denali Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Ladder Capital by 82.3% in the first quarter. Denali Advisors LLC now owns 166,081 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $1,895,000 after buying an additional 74,981 shares during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC increased its holdings in Ladder Capital by 2.8% in the first quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 6,955,381 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $79,361,000 after buying an additional 190,867 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in Ladder Capital by 3.2% in the first quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,734,479 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $19,790,000 after buying an additional 54,465 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.25% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently commented on LADR. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased 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. Wall Street Zen downgraded Ladder Capital from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Saturday, July 26th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and two have given a Buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ladder Capital has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $12.75.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ladder Capital

In other news, Director Mark David Alexander sold 26,795 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $10.86, for a total value of $290,993.70. Following the completion of 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders sold 91,382 shares of company stock valued at $1,003,501 over the last three months. 12.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Ladder Capital Stock Performance

LADR stock traded down $0.1350 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $11.1550. 449,311 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 639,241. Ladder Capital Corp has a twelve month low of $9.68 and a twelve month high of $12.36. 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 business has a 50 day simple moving average of $10.99 and a 200-day simple moving average of $10.95. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 9.62 and a beta of 1.03.

Ladder Capital (NYSE:LADR - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.23 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.22 by $0.01. Ladder Capital had a return on equity of 7.07% and a net margin of 20.05%.The company had revenue of $56.26 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $58.57 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.31 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict 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. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 30th were issued a dividend of $0.23 per share. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 8.2%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 30th. Ladder Capital's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 131.43%.

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.