Ladder Capital (NYSE:LADR) Posts Quarterly Earnings Results, Meets Estimates

Key Points

• Ladder Capital reported quarterly earnings of $0.24 per share, matching Wall Street estimates, while revenue of $57.76 million came in ahead of expectations.
• On the earnings call, management highlighted continued growth from originations and a shift toward higher-yielding loans, with $1.2 billion originated year-to-date and balance-sheet loans now around 50% of total assets.
• The company emphasized a strong balance sheet with $1.1 billion in liquidity and 2.3x adjusted leverage; it also kept returning capital through a $0.23 quarterly dividend and $8 million in share repurchases.

Ladder Capital (NYSE:LADR - Get Free Report) released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday. The real estate investment trust reported $0.24 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.24, FiscalAI reports. The company had revenue of $57.76 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $56.50 million. Ladder Capital had a return on equity of 5.73% and a net margin of 13.82%.During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.23 earnings per share.

Here are the key takeaways from Ladder Capital's conference call:

• Ladder reported distributable earnings of $30.8 million, or $0.24 per share, and said the quarter reflected strong origination activity and continued earnings growth.
• The company continued rotating capital into higher-yielding loans, originating $1.2 billion year-to-date and bringing balance-sheet loans to about 50% of total assets. Management expects this shift to lift net interest income over time.
• Ladder emphasized its balance-sheet strength, with 2.3x adjusted leverage, $1.1 billion of liquidity, and a predominantly unsecured funding profile. S&P also revised its outlook to positive, moving the company closer to investment-grade across all agencies.
• The company repurchased $8 million of stock in the quarter at a price well below book value, and management said it will keep buying back shares opportunistically while the stock trades at a discount. They also reiterated a $0.23 per share dividend.
• Credit quality remained manageable, though Ladder added one office loan to non-accrual and resolved another office loan through foreclosure. Management said the $47 million CECL reserve remains sufficient and expects the non-accrual to be resolved by the fourth quarter.

Ladder Capital Stock Performance

Shares of Ladder Capital stock traded down $0.23 on Thursday, hitting $9.53. 427,166 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 862,328. Ladder Capital has a 1 year low of $9.53 and a 1 year high of $11.92. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $10.06 and a 200-day simple moving average of $10.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.79, a quick ratio of 58.90 and a current ratio of 58.90. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.21 billion, a PE ratio of 21.65, a PEG ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 0.95.

Ladder Capital Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th were given a $0.23 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 30th. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 9.7%. Ladder Capital's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 209.09%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently weighed in on the company. Wall Street Zen upgraded Ladder Capital from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 2nd. Weiss Ratings downgraded Ladder Capital from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price target on Ladder Capital from $11.50 to $11.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 8th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $12.75.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Robert Perelman sold 17,505 shares of Ladder Capital stock in a transaction 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 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 12.60% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC lifted its holdings in Ladder Capital by 89.0% during the second quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 10,425 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $112,000 after purchasing an additional 4,910 shares in the last quarter. Vise Technologies Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Ladder Capital in the fourth quarter worth $113,000. Zacks Investment Management bought a new stake in shares of Ladder Capital during the 3rd quarter valued at $122,000. CIBC Bancorp USA Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Ladder Capital during the 3rd quarter valued at $133,000. Finally, Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. purchased a new position in shares of Ladder Capital in the fourth quarter valued at about $153,000. 62.25% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Ladder Capital Company Profile

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.

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