Ladder Capital (NYSE:LADR) Earns Buy Rating from Analysts at B. Riley

Equities researchers at B. Riley began coverage on shares of Ladder Capital (NYSE:LADR) in a note issued to investors on Monday. The brokerage set a “buy” rating and a $13.00 price target on the real estate investment trust’s stock. B. Riley’s price target indicates a potential upside of 18.13% from the stock’s current price.

Other research analysts have also issued reports about the stock. Zacks Research lowered shares of Ladder Capital from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 30th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Ladder Capital in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Ladder Capital from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, December 6th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $12.50.

Ladder Capital Stock Down 0.9%

Shares of NYSE LADR traded down $0.10 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $11.01. The stock had a trading volume of 180,817 shares, compared to its average volume of 316,172. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $10.94 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $11.05. Ladder Capital has a 52 week low of $9.68 and a 52 week high of $11.92. The company has a market capitalization of $1.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.47, a P/E/G ratio of 6.78 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.01, a quick ratio of 35.60 and a current ratio of 35.60.

Ladder Capital (NYSE:LADR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 23rd. The real estate investment trust reported $0.25 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.23 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $57.44 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $62.90 million. Ladder Capital had a return on equity of 6.70% and a net margin of 19.26%.During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.30 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Ladder Capital will post 1.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Ladder Capital

In other Ladder Capital news, Director Jeffrey B. Steiner sold 19,481 shares of Ladder Capital stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $10.89, for a total transaction of $212,148.09. Following the sale, the director directly owned 27,311 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $297,416.79. The trade was a 41.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 12.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ladder Capital during the 1st quarter worth about $1,218,000. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Ladder Capital by 111.7% in the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 22,189 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $253,000 after acquiring an additional 11,709 shares during the last quarter. Caxton Associates LLP acquired a new position in shares of Ladder Capital in the 1st quarter worth approximately $209,000. Aristeia Capital L.L.C. bought a new stake in Ladder Capital during the 1st quarter worth approximately $268,000. Finally, Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC increased its holdings in Ladder Capital by 138.6% during the 1st quarter. Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC now owns 8,933 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $102,000 after purchasing an additional 5,189 shares in the last quarter. 62.25% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Ladder Capital

Ladder Capital Corp (NYSE: LADR) is a publicly traded commercial real estate finance company structured as a real estate investment trust. The firm specializes in originating, acquiring and managing a diversified portfolio of commercial mortgage loans, subordinate financings such as mezzanine loans and B-notes, and equity investments. In addition to direct lending activities, Ladder Capital invests in and manages commercial mortgage‐backed securities (CMBS) and commercial real estate collateralized loan obligations (CRE CLOs), providing financing across a range of property types including office, retail, multifamily, industrial and hospitality assets.

Since its inception in 2008, Ladder Capital has developed a platform that supports both balance-sheet lending and structured securitization.