Ladder Capital Corp (NYSE:LADR) Given Average Recommendation of “Buy” by Brokerages

Ladder Capital Corp (NYSE:LADR) has been assigned an average recommendation of “Buy” from the six research firms that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation, four have issued a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month target price among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $13.29.

LADR has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price target on Ladder Capital from $13.00 to $12.75 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Ladder Capital from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, February 24th. Finally, B. Riley raised shares of Ladder Capital to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ladder Capital

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Ladder Capital by 2.8% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,678,115 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $18,778,000 after purchasing an additional 45,040 shares during the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC increased its stake in Ladder Capital by 1,089.1% during the third quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 1,528,802 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $17,734,000 after acquiring an additional 1,400,238 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC grew its holdings in shares of Ladder Capital by 28.3% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 205,403 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $2,382,000 after purchasing an additional 45,294 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Ladder Capital by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,680,014 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $18,799,000 after purchasing an additional 39,695 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC purchased a new stake in Ladder Capital in the 4th quarter valued at about $4,323,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.25% of the company’s stock.

Ladder Capital Trading Down 0.4 %

NYSE:LADR opened at $11.43 on Thursday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $11.51 and a 200 day moving average of $11.50. The company has a quick ratio of 38.96, a current ratio of 38.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.05. Ladder Capital has a 52 week low of $10.21 and a 52 week high of $12.48. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.30 and a beta of 1.91.

Ladder Capital (NYSE:LADR) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.25 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.29 by ($0.04). Ladder Capital had a net margin of 21.36% and a return on equity of 8.77%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Ladder Capital will post 1.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ladder Capital Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a $0.23 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 8.05%. Ladder Capital’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 106.98%.

About Ladder Capital

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.