Ladder Capital Corp (NYSE:LADR) Short Interest Update

Ladder Capital Corp (NYSE:LADR) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest in the month of October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 1,150,000 shares, a growth of 52.0% from the October 15th total of 756,600 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 733,100 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.6 days. Currently, 1.0% of the company’s shares are sold short.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on LADR shares. B. Riley upped their price objective on shares of Ladder Capital from $13.00 to $14.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. BTIG Research reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $13.50 target price on shares of Ladder Capital in a research note on Friday, July 19th. Bank of America upped their target price on shares of Ladder Capital from $11.00 to $13.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price 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. Finally, JMP Securities reiterated a “market outperform” rating and issued a $13.50 target price on shares of Ladder Capital in a research note on Friday, August 30th. One 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, Ladder Capital currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $13.33.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ladder Capital

In related news, President Pamela Mccormack sold 50,000 shares of the business’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 transaction, the president now owns 548,863 shares in the company, valued at $6,723,571.75. The trade was a 8.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Robert Perelman sold 25,000 shares of the business’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 transaction, the insider now owns 351,453 shares in the company, valued at $4,270,153.95. This represents a 6.64 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 12.00% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ladder Capital

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Quest Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Ladder Capital by 13,513.5% in the third quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 7,079 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $82,000 after purchasing an additional 7,027 shares during the period. MQS Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ladder Capital during the 2nd quarter valued at $128,000. Algert Global LLC bought a new position in Ladder Capital in the 2nd quarter worth $130,000. SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in Ladder Capital in the 1st quarter worth $148,000. Finally, TrueMark Investments LLC bought a new stake in Ladder Capital during the second quarter valued at about $174,000. 62.25% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ladder Capital Stock Performance

Ladder Capital stock traded up $0.04 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $11.70. 604,974 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 637,594. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.39 and a beta of 1.94. The business has a 50 day moving average of $11.56 and a two-hundred day moving average of $11.50. Ladder Capital has a 12 month low of $10.10 and a 12 month 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 issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.30 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.26 by $0.04. Ladder Capital had a net margin of 18.90% and a return on equity of 9.14%. The company had revenue of $128.64 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $60.85 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.28 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Ladder Capital will post 1 earnings per share for the current year.

Ladder Capital Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 30th were paid a $0.23 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 30th. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.86%. Ladder Capital’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 121.05%.

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.