Ladder Capital Corp (NYSE:LADR) Short Interest Up 21.3% in September

Ladder Capital Corp (NYSE:LADR) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest in the month of September. As of September 30th, there was short interest totalling 997,700 shares, a growth of 21.3% from the September 15th total of 822,200 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 716,400 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.4 days. Approximately 0.9% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have commented on LADR shares. B. Riley lifted their target price on shares of Ladder Capital from $13.00 to $14.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th. JMP Securities reissued a “market outperform” rating and issued a $13.50 price target on shares of Ladder Capital in a research note on Friday, August 30th. Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of Ladder Capital from $11.00 to $13.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th. BTIG Research reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $13.50 price target on shares of Ladder Capital in a research note on Friday, July 19th. Finally, Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of Ladder Capital in a research note on Tuesday, June 25th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $13.00 price target on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Ladder Capital presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $13.33.

Insider Transactions at Ladder Capital

In related news, President Pamela Mccormack sold 100,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $12.17, for a total transaction of $1,217,000.00. Following the sale, the president now owns 598,863 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,288,162.71. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, insider Robert Perelman sold 25,000 shares of Ladder Capital stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $12.15, for a total value of $303,750.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 351,453 shares in the company, valued at $4,270,153.95. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, President Pamela Mccormack sold 100,000 shares of Ladder Capital stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $12.17, for a total transaction of $1,217,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the president now owns 598,863 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,288,162.71. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 175,000 shares of company stock worth $2,133,250 over the last 90 days. 12.00% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ladder Capital

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its stake in Ladder Capital by 15.1% in the 1st quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 943,885 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $10,505,000 after acquiring an additional 123,920 shares during the last quarter. Boston Partners acquired a new stake in Ladder Capital in the 1st quarter valued at about $787,000. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its stake in shares of 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 worth $12,321,000 after purchasing an additional 266,693 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in shares of Ladder Capital by 16.7% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,051,999 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $23,619,000 after purchasing an additional 293,615 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cetera Advisors LLC boosted its stake 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 worth $311,000 after purchasing an additional 3,161 shares during the last quarter. 62.25% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ladder Capital Stock Performance

LADR stock traded up $0.07 on Monday, hitting $11.22. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 594,236 shares, compared to its average volume of 621,638. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $11.78 and a two-hundred day moving average of $11.40. Ladder Capital has a 1 year low of $9.08 and a 1 year high of $12.48. The stock has a market cap of $1.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.80 and a beta of 1.94. The company has a current ratio of 76.87, a quick ratio of 76.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.21.

Ladder Capital (NYSE:LADR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 25th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.31 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.26 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $71.67 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $71.22 million. Ladder Capital had a net margin of 19.07% and a return on equity of 9.17%. Ladder Capital’s quarterly revenue was up 13.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.31 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Ladder Capital will post 1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ladder Capital Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.23 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 30th. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 8.20%. Ladder Capital’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 121.05%.

Ladder Capital Company 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.