Ladder Capital (NYSE:LADR) Raised to Hold at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Ladder Capital (NYSE:LADR - Free Report) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research report released on Friday.

Separately, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price objective on Ladder Capital from $12.75 to $12.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 7th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $13.20.

Ladder Capital Price Performance

LADR stock traded down $0.12 during trading on Friday, hitting $10.75. The stock had a trading volume of 1,055,968 shares, compared to its average volume of 665,230. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.83, a current ratio of 48.72 and a quick ratio of 48.71. Ladder Capital has a twelve month low of $9.68 and a twelve month high of $12.48. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.11, a PEG ratio of 3.26 and a beta of 1.01. The company's 50-day moving average price is $10.53 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $10.98.

Ladder Capital (NYSE:LADR - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.22 by ($0.02). Ladder Capital had a return on equity of 7.82% and a net margin of 21.81%. The firm had revenue of $51.20 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $65.15 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.33 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Ladder Capital will post 1.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ladder Capital Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 30th will be issued a dividend of $0.23 per share. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 8.56%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 30th. Ladder Capital's dividend payout ratio is currently 112.20%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in LADR. Handelsbanken Fonder AB boosted its holdings in shares of Ladder Capital by 18.3% during the 4th quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 32,300 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $361,000 after purchasing an additional 5,000 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Ladder Capital by 16.5% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 490,560 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $5,489,000 after purchasing an additional 69,537 shares during the last quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Ladder Capital by 4.8% in the fourth quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 167,820 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $1,878,000 after acquiring an additional 7,663 shares during the last quarter. Sage Investment Counsel LLC acquired a new position in Ladder Capital in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $211,000. Finally, Bailard Inc. lifted its holdings in Ladder Capital by 45.9% in the fourth quarter. Bailard Inc. now owns 68,448 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $766,000 after acquiring an additional 21,548 shares during the last quarter. 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.