Phocas Financial Corp. Has $5.32 Million Stake in Ladder Capital Corp (NYSE:LADR)

Key Points

• Phocas Financial Corp. has reduced its stake in Ladder Capital Corp by 5.4%, selling 26,860 shares and now holding 466,089 shares valued at approximately $5.3 million.
• Multiple hedge funds have increased their positions in Ladder Capital, with notable increases from Balyasny Asset Management (35.1%) and Bank of America Corp (18.7%) during the fourth quarter.
• Analysts are divided on Ladder Capital, with Wall Street Zen downgrading shares from "hold" to "sell," while Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target and maintained an "outperform" rating.

Phocas Financial Corp. reduced its stake in Ladder Capital Corp (NYSE:LADR - Free Report) by 5.4% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 466,089 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 26,860 shares during the quarter. Phocas Financial Corp. owned 0.37% of Ladder Capital worth $5,318,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Mackenzie Financial Corp increased its stake in Ladder Capital by 7.6% in the first quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 20,785 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $237,000 after purchasing an additional 1,473 shares during the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Ladder Capital by 2.9% during the first quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 61,118 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $712,000 after purchasing an additional 1,741 shares in the last quarter. Aviso Wealth Management boosted its position in shares of Ladder Capital by 1.4% in the 1st quarter. Aviso Wealth Management now owns 128,485 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $1,466,000 after purchasing an additional 1,812 shares during the period. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. grew its stake in Ladder Capital by 4.8% during the 1st quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 49,336 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $563,000 after buying an additional 2,251 shares during the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV purchased a new stake in Ladder Capital in the first quarter valued at approximately $31,000. 62.25% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Wall Street Zen cut Ladder Capital from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Saturday, July 26th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on Ladder Capital from $11.75 to $12.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, July 25th.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ladder Capital

In other news, Director Mark David Alexander sold 26,795 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction 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 in the company, valued at approximately $317,426.94. This trade represents a 47.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 91,382 shares of company stock valued at $1,003,501. Corporate insiders own 12.00% of the company's stock.

Ladder Capital Stock Performance

NYSE LADR traded up $0.01 on Thursday, hitting $11.00. The stock had a trading volume of 97,085 shares, compared to its average volume of 675,530. Ladder Capital Corp has a one year low of $9.68 and a one year high of $12.36. The stock has a market cap of $1.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.69, a P/E/G ratio of 9.37 and a beta of 1.03. The company's 50-day moving average is $10.86 and its two-hundred day moving average is $10.95. The company has a quick ratio of 31.28, a current ratio of 31.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.86.

Ladder Capital (NYSE:LADR - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 24th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.22 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $56.26 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $58.57 million. Ladder Capital had a return on equity of 7.07% and a net margin of 20.05%. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.31 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Ladder Capital Corp will post 1.03 earnings per share for the current 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 paid a $0.23 dividend. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 8.4%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 30th. Ladder Capital's dividend payout ratio is currently 131.43%.

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.