Ladder Capital (NYSE:LADR) Lowered to Sell Rating by Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Ladder Capital (NYSE:LADR) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research report sent to investors on Friday.

LADR has been the subject of several other reports. Citigroup reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating on shares of Ladder Capital in a research report on Wednesday. Susquehanna set a $13.00 price objective on shares of Ladder Capital in a report on Wednesday. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Ladder Capital in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Zacks Research lowered shares of Ladder Capital from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 30th. Finally, B. Riley started coverage on Ladder Capital in a report on Monday, January 5th. They set a “buy” rating and a $13.00 price objective on the stock. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ladder Capital has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $12.80.

Ladder Capital Trading Down 1.5%

Shares of LADR opened at $11.07 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $11.05 and its 200 day moving average price is $11.06. The company has a quick ratio of 35.60, a current ratio of 35.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.01. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.56, a P/E/G ratio of 7.18 and a beta of 1.01. Ladder Capital has a 12-month low of $9.68 and a 12-month high of $11.92.

Ladder Capital (NYSE:LADR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 23rd. The real estate investment trust reported $0.25 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.23 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $57.44 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $62.90 million. Ladder Capital had a return on equity of 6.70% and a net margin of 19.26%.During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.30 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Ladder Capital will post 1.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Ladder Capital Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 31st were issued a $0.23 dividend. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 8.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, December 31st. Ladder Capital’s payout ratio is presently 146.03%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Jeffrey B. Steiner sold 19,481 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $10.89, for a total transaction of $212,148.09. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 27,311 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $297,416.79. This trade represents a 41.63% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 12.00% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Ladder Capital

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in LADR. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in shares of Ladder Capital by 63.8% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,390 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 931 shares during the last quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. grew its holdings in Ladder Capital by 500.0% during the 4th quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 3,000 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 2,500 shares during the last quarter. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp acquired a new stake in Ladder Capital in the 3rd quarter valued at about $34,000. Vision Financial Markets LLC bought a new position in shares of Ladder Capital in the third quarter worth about $35,000. Finally, CWM LLC lifted its position in shares of Ladder Capital by 192.4% during the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 3,798 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 2,499 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 62.25% of the company’s stock.

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.