Bailard Inc. Acquires 21,548 Shares of Ladder Capital Corp (NYSE:LADR)

Bailard Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Ladder Capital Corp (NYSE:LADR) by 45.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 68,448 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after acquiring an additional 21,548 shares during the quarter. Bailard Inc. owned 0.05% of Ladder Capital worth $766,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Sage Investment Counsel LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ladder Capital during the 4th quarter valued at $211,000. QRG Capital Management Inc. grew its position in Ladder Capital by 4.8% during 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 buying an additional 7,663 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its holdings in Ladder Capital by 16.5% during the fourth 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 buying an additional 69,537 shares during the last quarter. Access Investment Management LLC raised its position in Ladder Capital by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Access Investment Management LLC now owns 284,064 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $3,179,000 after acquiring an additional 1,145 shares during the period. Finally, Handelsbanken Fonder AB boosted its stake in Ladder Capital by 18.3% in the fourth quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 32,300 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $361,000 after acquiring an additional 5,000 shares during the last quarter. 62.25% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Ladder Capital Price Performance

Shares of NYSE LADR opened at $11.82 on Tuesday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $11.34 and a 200-day moving average of $11.56. The stock has a market cap of $1.50 billion, a PE ratio of 13.74 and a beta of 1.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.05, a quick ratio of 38.96 and a current ratio of 38.96. Ladder Capital Corp has a fifty-two week low of $10.21 and a fifty-two week high of $12.48.

Ladder Capital (NYSE:LADR) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.25 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.29 by ($0.04). Ladder Capital had a net margin of 21.36% and a return on equity of 8.77%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Ladder Capital Corp will post 1.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Ladder Capital Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st were given a dividend of $0.23 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.78%. Ladder Capital’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 106.98%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price target on shares of Ladder Capital from $13.00 to $12.75 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. StockNews.com cut Ladder Capital from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, February 24th. Finally, B. Riley raised Ladder Capital to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $13.29.

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.