Short Interest in Ladder Capital Corp (NYSE:LADR) Drops By 32.5%

Ladder Capital Corp (NYSE:LADR) was the recipient of a significant decrease in short interest in December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 1,040,000 shares, a decrease of 32.5% from the December 15th total of 1,540,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 687,900 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.5 days. Approximately 0.9% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Ladder Capital Stock Performance

Shares of Ladder Capital stock traded up $0.11 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $11.09. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 775,972 shares, compared to its average volume of 669,841. Ladder Capital has a 52 week low of $10.10 and a 52 week high of $12.48. The firm has a market cap of $1.42 billion, a PE ratio of 14.59 and a beta of 1.92. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $11.55 and its 200-day moving average price is $11.63. The company has a quick ratio of 54.44, a current ratio of 54.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.34.

Ladder Capital (NYSE:LADR) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.30 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.26 by $0.04. Ladder Capital had a return on equity of 9.14% and a net margin of 18.90%. The firm had revenue of $128.64 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $60.85 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.28 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Ladder Capital will post 1.06 earnings per share for the current year.

Ladder Capital Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be given a $0.23 dividend. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 8.30%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 31st. Ladder Capital’s dividend payout ratio is presently 121.05%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently weighed in on LADR. B. Riley upgraded shares of Ladder Capital to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price target on Ladder Capital from $13.00 to $12.75 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $13.29.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ladder Capital

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. HB Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Ladder Capital by 13.4% during the 4th quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 17,011 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $191,000 after acquiring an additional 2,011 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Ladder Capital by 5.0% during the third 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 purchasing an additional 96,573 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Ladder Capital by 23.1% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 418,713 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $4,698,000 after purchasing an additional 78,562 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Ladder Capital by 0.3% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,649,699 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $30,743,000 after buying an additional 8,178 shares during the period. Finally, Barclays PLC raised its holdings in Ladder Capital by 28.3% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 205,403 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $2,382,000 after buying an additional 45,294 shares during the last quarter. 62.25% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.