Ladder Capital Corp (NYSE:LADR) Given Average Rating of "Hold" by Brokerages

Key Points

• Analyst sentiment is mixed: Seven brokerages give Ladder Capital an overall “Hold” rating, with four buys, two holds and one sell. The average 12-month price target is $12.36 versus a recent share price of $9.76.
• Ladder Capital reported quarterly earnings of $0.24 per share, matching estimates, while revenue of $57.76 million exceeded expectations of $56.50 million.
• The REIT paid a quarterly dividend of $0.23, equivalent to an annualized $0.92 dividend and a 9.4% yield; however, its payout ratio remains elevated at 219.05%.

Ladder Capital Corp (NYSE:LADR - Get Free Report) has been given a consensus recommendation of "Hold" by the seven research firms that are covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, two have assigned a hold recommendation and four have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1-year price target among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $12.3571.

A number of research analysts have recently commented on LADR shares. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Ladder Capital from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Bank of America reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $10.25 target price on shares of Ladder Capital in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their target price on shares of Ladder Capital from $11.00 to $10.75 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 28th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Ladder Capital from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, May 2nd.

Ladder Capital Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE LADR opened at $9.76 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.81, a quick ratio of 44.15 and a current ratio of 44.15. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $9.96 and a 200 day moving average price of $10.18. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.24 billion, a PE ratio of 23.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.04 and a beta of 0.95. Ladder Capital has a 52 week low of $9.38 and a 52 week high of $11.92.

Ladder Capital (NYSE:LADR - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The real estate investment trust reported $0.24 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.24. Ladder Capital had a net margin of 12.62% and a return on equity of 5.92%. The business had revenue of $57.76 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $56.50 million. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.23 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Ladder Capital will post 0.72 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ladder Capital Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th were given a $0.23 dividend. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 9.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, June 30th. Ladder Capital's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 219.05%.

Insider Activity at Ladder Capital

In other news, insider Robert Perelman sold 17,505 shares of Ladder Capital stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $10.25, for a total transaction of $179,426.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 428,684 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,394,011. The trade was a 3.92% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 12.60% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ladder Capital

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Ladder Capital by 17.0% in the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,275,047 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $35,993,000 after purchasing an additional 474,982 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Ladder Capital by 30.4% during the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 2,930,524 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $32,206,000 after buying an additional 682,511 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in shares of Ladder Capital by 2.4% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,666,340 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $29,090,000 after buying an additional 61,292 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Ladder Capital by 11.4% during the 4th quarter. Nuveen LLC now owns 2,208,830 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $24,275,000 after buying an additional 225,931 shares during the period. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its stake in Ladder Capital by 50.6% in the 4th quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 1,391,133 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $15,289,000 after buying an additional 467,545 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.25% of the company's stock.

About Ladder Capital

Ladder Capital Corp NYSE: LADR is a publicly traded commercial real estate finance company structured as a real estate investment trust. The firm specializes in originating, acquiring and managing a diversified portfolio of commercial mortgage loans, subordinate financings such as mezzanine loans and B-notes, and equity investments. In addition to direct lending activities, Ladder Capital invests in and manages commercial mortgage‐backed securities (CMBS) and commercial real estate collateralized loan obligations (CRE CLOs), providing financing across a range of property types including office, retail, multifamily, industrial and hospitality assets.

Since its inception in 2008, Ladder Capital has developed a platform that supports both balance-sheet lending and structured securitization.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.

Continue following MarketBeat

Add MarketBeat as your preferred source on Google to see our latest stories in your feed.

Add As Preferred Source