Handelsbanken Fonder AB Purchases 5,000 Shares of Ladder Capital Corp (NYSE:LADR)

Handelsbanken Fonder AB boosted its position in Ladder Capital Corp (NYSE:LADR) by 18.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 32,300 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,000 shares during the quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB’s holdings in Ladder Capital were worth $361,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Creative Planning increased its holdings in shares of Ladder Capital by 2.5% during the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 37,302 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $433,000 after acquiring an additional 909 shares in the last quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Ladder Capital by 16.4% during the third quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 160,157 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,858,000 after purchasing an additional 22,559 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position 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 buying an additional 96,573 shares during the last quarter. Access Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in Ladder Capital by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter. Access Investment Management LLC now owns 282,919 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $3,282,000 after buying an additional 6,241 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Aptus Capital Advisors LLC raised its position in Ladder Capital by 27.5% in the 3rd quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC now owns 376,784 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $4,371,000 after buying an additional 81,233 shares during the last quarter. 62.25% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have commented on LADR shares. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Ladder Capital from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, February 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price objective on shares of Ladder Capital from $13.00 to $12.75 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, B. Riley raised shares of Ladder Capital to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. 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 company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $13.29.

Ladder Capital Price Performance

Ladder Capital stock opened at $11.82 on Tuesday. Ladder Capital Corp has a 52-week low of $10.21 and a 52-week high of $12.48. The company has a quick ratio of 38.96, a current ratio of 38.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.05. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $11.34 and its 200 day moving average is $11.56. The company has a market cap of $1.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.74 and a beta of 1.92.

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

Ladder Capital Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st were paid a dividend of $0.23 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.78%. Ladder Capital’s dividend payout ratio is currently 106.98%.

Ladder Capital 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.