Nuveen LLC Takes $22.26 Million Position in Ladder Capital Corp $LADR

Key Points

• Nuveen LLC has acquired a new stake in Ladder Capital Corp, purchasing 1,951,033 shares valued at approximately $22.26 million, representing about 1.53% of the company.
• Ladder Capital announced a quarterly dividend of $0.23 per share, resulting in an annualized dividend of $0.92 and a yield of 8.2%.
• Despite reporting earnings per share of $0.23 for the most recent quarter, which surpassed estimates, Ladder Capital's revenue fell short of expectations at $56.26 million.

Nuveen LLC bought a new position in shares of Ladder Capital Corp (NYSE:LADR - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 1,951,033 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock, valued at approximately $22,261,000. Nuveen LLC owned about 1.53% of Ladder Capital at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in LADR. Wells Fargo & Company MN lifted its position in shares of Ladder Capital by 19.6% during the fourth quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 107,806 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $1,206,000 after purchasing an additional 17,689 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Ladder Capital by 2.9% during the fourth 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 shares of Ladder Capital during the fourth quarter worth $1,911,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Ladder Capital during the fourth quarter valued at $7,981,000. Finally, Sterling Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Ladder Capital by 816.1% during the fourth quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 3,637 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 3,240 shares during the period. 62.25% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Mark David Alexander sold 34,587 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $11.12, for a total transaction of $384,607.44. Following the transaction, the director owned 86,024 shares in the company, valued at $956,586.88. This represents a 28.68% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders have sold a total of 91,382 shares of company stock worth $1,003,501 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 12.00% of the company's stock.

Ladder Capital Stock Up 3.1%

LADR traded up $0.3410 on Friday, hitting $11.5010. The company had a trading volume of 447,424 shares, compared to its average volume of 661,978. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $10.99 and a 200-day moving average price of $10.95. Ladder Capital Corp has a 12-month low of $9.68 and a 12-month high of $12.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.86, a quick ratio of 31.28 and a current ratio of 31.28. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.44, a P/E/G ratio of 9.62 and a beta of 1.03.

Ladder Capital (NYSE:LADR - Get Free Report) last posted its 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. 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 analyst estimates of $58.57 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.31 earnings per share. 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 was paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 30th were issued a dividend of $0.23 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 30th. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 8.0%. Ladder Capital's dividend payout ratio is 131.43%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

LADR has been the subject of a number of research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on shares of Ladder Capital from $11.75 to $12.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Ladder Capital from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Saturday, July 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and two have given a Buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Ladder Capital has a consensus 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.