Ladder Capital (NYSE:LADR) Cut to "Hold" at Zacks Research

Key Points

• Ladder Capital has been downgraded from a "strong-buy" to a "hold" rating by Zacks Research, reflecting a cautious outlook from analysts.
• The stock currently has an average price target of $12.00, with mixed ratings: one Strong Buy, one Buy, and one Hold.
• Insiders have recently sold substantial shares, with one director selling 34,587 shares, decreasing their ownership by 28.68%.

Ladder Capital (NYSE:LADR - Get Free Report) was downgraded by analysts at Zacks Research from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other equities research analysts have also issued reports on LADR. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Ladder Capital from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 30th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on Ladder Capital from $11.75 to $12.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, July 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has assigned a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $12.00.

Ladder Capital Trading Down 0.4%

Shares of NYSE LADR opened at $10.87 on Tuesday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $11.32 and a 200 day simple moving average of $10.92. Ladder Capital has a 52 week low of $9.68 and a 52 week high of $12.10. The stock has a market cap of $1.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.52, a PEG ratio of 9.30 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.86, a quick ratio of 31.28 and a current ratio of 31.28.

Ladder Capital (NYSE:LADR - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 24th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.23 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.22 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $56.26 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $58.57 million. Ladder Capital had a net margin of 20.05% and a return on equity of 7.07%. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.31 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Ladder Capital will post 1.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Mark David Alexander sold 34,587 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $11.12, for a total transaction of $384,607.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 86,024 shares in the company, valued at $956,586.88. The trade was a 28.68% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 91,382 shares of company stock valued at $1,003,501. Insiders own 12.00% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ladder Capital

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in Ladder Capital in the 1st quarter valued at $22,261,000. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. bought a new position in shares of Ladder Capital during the 2nd quarter worth about $6,289,000. Jennison Associates LLC boosted its position in shares of Ladder Capital by 7.7% during the 2nd quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 7,493,528 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $80,555,000 after acquiring an additional 538,147 shares in the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its stake in Ladder Capital by 81,503.1% in the second quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 372,110 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $4,000,000 after acquiring an additional 371,654 shares during the period. Finally, Access Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Ladder Capital in the second quarter valued at about $3,695,000. 62.25% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.

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