MQS Management LLC Raises Stock Holdings in Ladder Capital Corp (NYSE:LADR)

MQS Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Ladder Capital Corp (NYSE:LADR) by 46.6% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 16,650 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,289 shares during the quarter. MQS Management LLC’s holdings in Ladder Capital were worth $193,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Boston Partners purchased a new position in Ladder Capital during the 1st quarter valued at $787,000. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its position in Ladder Capital by 32.3% during the 2nd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 1,091,288 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $12,321,000 after purchasing an additional 266,693 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Ladder Capital by 5.0% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,020,143 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $23,434,000 after buying an additional 96,573 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Ladder Capital by 12.8% during the 1st quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC now owns 27,936 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $311,000 after buying an additional 3,161 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Millennium Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Ladder Capital by 92.0% during the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 737,970 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $8,332,000 after buying an additional 353,530 shares in the last quarter. 62.25% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ladder Capital

In other news, insider Robert Perelman sold 25,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $12.15, for a total transaction of $303,750.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 351,453 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,270,153.95. This represents a 6.64 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, President Pamela Mccormack sold 50,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $12.25, for a total transaction of $612,500.00. Following the sale, the president now directly owns 548,863 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,723,571.75. The trade was a 8.35 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 12.00% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

LADR has been the topic of a number of research reports. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Ladder Capital from $11.00 to $13.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. JMP Securities restated a “market outperform” rating and set a $13.50 target price on shares of Ladder Capital in a report on Friday, August 30th. StockNews.com cut shares of Ladder Capital from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. B. Riley boosted their target price on shares of Ladder Capital from $13.00 to $14.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on shares of Ladder Capital from $12.50 to $13.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Ladder Capital presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $13.33.

Ladder Capital Stock Performance

Shares of Ladder Capital stock opened at $11.64 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $1.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.32 and a beta of 1.94. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $11.54 and its 200 day moving average is $11.51. Ladder Capital Corp has a 1 year low of $10.10 and a 1 year high of $12.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.34, a current ratio of 54.44 and a quick ratio of 54.44.

Ladder Capital (NYSE:LADR) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.26 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $128.64 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $60.85 million. Ladder Capital had a net margin of 18.90% and a return on equity of 9.14%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.28 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Ladder Capital Corp will post 1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ladder Capital Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 30th were paid a dividend of $0.23 per share. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.90%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 30th. Ladder Capital’s dividend payout ratio is currently 121.05%.

Ladder Capital 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.