Ladder Capital Corp (NYSE:LADR) Sees Significant Decrease in Short Interest

Ladder Capital Corp (NYSE:LADR - Get Free Report) was the target of a significant decline in short interest in the month of February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 862,800 shares, a decline of 17.8% from the February 13th total of 1,050,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 581,700 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.5 days. Currently, 0.8% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Ladder Capital Price Performance

Shares of LADR stock traded down $0.24 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $11.43. 1,255,639 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 588,056. Ladder Capital has a fifty-two week low of $10.21 and a fifty-two week high of $12.48. The stock's fifty day moving average is $11.45 and its two-hundred day moving average is $11.53. The company has a market cap of $1.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.29 and a beta of 1.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.05, a current ratio of 38.96 and a quick ratio of 38.96.

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Ladder Capital (NYSE:LADR - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.29 by ($0.04). Ladder Capital had a return on equity of 8.77% and a net margin of 21.36%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Ladder Capital will post 1.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ladder Capital Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.23 per share. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 8.05%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. Ladder Capital's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 106.98%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ladder Capital

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Jennison Associates LLC raised its stake in shares of Ladder Capital by 1.6% during the third quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 6,767,687 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $78,505,000 after buying an additional 108,079 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its stake in shares of Ladder Capital by 1.9% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,994,537 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $35,411,000 after buying an additional 54,598 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in shares of Ladder Capital by 77.6% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,684,772 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $30,043,000 after buying an additional 1,172,961 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Ladder Capital by 0.3% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,649,699 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $30,743,000 after buying an additional 8,178 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. raised 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 worth $23,434,000 after buying an additional 96,573 shares during the last quarter. 62.25% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.