Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd Invests $300,000 in Ladder Capital Corp (NYSE:LADR)

Key Points

• Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd has acquired a new stake in Ladder Capital Corp, purchasing 26,335 shares valued at approximately $300,000.
• Ladder Capital recently reported a quarterly earnings per share (EPS) of $0.23, slightly exceeding analysts' estimates, along with an 8.25% dividend yield.
• Several institutional investors, including Wellington Management and Franklin Resources, have increased their stakes in Ladder Capital significantly during the last quarter.

Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Ladder Capital Corp (NYSE:LADR - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 26,335 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock, valued at approximately $300,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. KBC Group NV purchased a new stake in shares of Ladder Capital during the first quarter worth about $31,000. Versant Capital Management Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Ladder Capital during the first quarter worth about $38,000. Sterling Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings 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 worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 3,240 shares during the period. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Ladder Capital during the fourth quarter worth about $84,000. Finally, Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. bought a new position in Ladder Capital in the 4th quarter worth $129,000. 62.25% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Ladder Capital from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Saturday, July 26th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target 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.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Ladder Capital news, Director Mark David Alexander sold 26,795 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $10.86, for a total value of $290,993.70. Following the sale, the director owned 29,229 shares in the company, valued at approximately $317,426.94. This represents a 47.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders have sold a total of 91,382 shares of company stock valued at $1,003,501 in the last 90 days. 12.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Ladder Capital Trading Down 0.5%

LADR stock traded down $0.05 during trading on Friday, reaching $10.87. The company had a trading volume of 747,557 shares, compared to its average volume of 844,144. Ladder Capital Corp has a 52 week low of $9.68 and a 52 week high of $12.36. The company has a market cap of $1.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.53, a PEG ratio of 3.22 and a beta of 1.03. The business has a 50 day moving average of $10.82 and a 200 day moving average of $10.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.86, a current ratio of 31.28 and a quick ratio of 48.71.

Ladder Capital (NYSE:LADR - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.22 by $0.01. Ladder Capital had a net margin of 20.05% and a return on equity of 7.07%. The company had revenue of $56.26 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $58.57 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.31 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Ladder Capital Corp will post 1.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ladder Capital Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 30th were issued a $0.23 dividend. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 8.5%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 30th. Ladder Capital's dividend payout ratio 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.