First Trust Advisors LP Sells 553,262 Shares of Ladder Capital Corp (NYSE:LADR)

First Trust Advisors LP lowered its stake in Ladder Capital Corp (NYSE:LADR - Free Report) by 44.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 687,900 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 553,262 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP owned approximately 0.54% of Ladder Capital worth $7,698,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Capital Square LLC lifted its position in Ladder Capital by 4.3% in the fourth quarter. Capital Square LLC now owns 79,713 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $882,000 after purchasing an additional 3,251 shares during the last quarter. Jump Financial LLC boosted its position in Ladder Capital by 50.0% during the 4th quarter. Jump Financial LLC now owns 15,000 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $168,000 after buying an additional 5,000 shares during the period. Barclays PLC grew its holdings in Ladder Capital by 85.1% in the 4th quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 380,127 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $4,254,000 after acquiring an additional 174,724 shares during the last quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. purchased a new position in shares of Ladder Capital in the fourth quarter valued at about $739,000. Finally, 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. Institutional investors own 62.25% of the company's stock.

Ladder Capital Stock Down 0.6 %

NYSE:LADR traded down $0.06 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $10.49. 61,377 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 636,350. The company has a market cap of $1.33 billion, a PE ratio of 12.20 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.05, a current ratio of 38.96 and a quick ratio of 38.96. Ladder Capital Corp has a one year low of $9.68 and a one year high of $12.48. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $10.96 and a 200 day moving average price of $11.28.

Ladder Capital (NYSE:LADR - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $65.15 million. Ladder Capital had a net margin of 21.36% and a return on equity of 8.77%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.33 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Ladder Capital Corp will post 1.03 EPS for the current year.

Ladder Capital Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st were issued a $0.23 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 31st. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 8.77%. Ladder Capital's payout ratio is currently 112.20%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

LADR has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. StockNews.com downgraded Ladder Capital from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, February 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price target on Ladder Capital from $12.75 to $12.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 7th. Finally, B. Riley raised shares of Ladder Capital to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $13.17.

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.