Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. Raises Holdings in Ladder Capital Corp (NYSE:LADR)

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Ladder Capital Corp (NYSE:LADR) by 2.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 1,678,115 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after acquiring an additional 45,040 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. owned approximately 1.31% of Ladder Capital worth $18,778,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of LADR. Jane Street Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Ladder Capital by 1,089.1% during the third quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 1,528,802 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $17,734,000 after acquiring an additional 1,400,238 shares during the last quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ladder Capital during the third quarter worth about $6,907,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ladder Capital during the fourth quarter worth about $4,323,000. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its stake in shares of Ladder Capital by 27.2% during the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 1,223,151 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $13,687,000 after acquiring an additional 261,681 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Stifel Financial Corp grew its stake in shares of Ladder Capital by 196.3% during the third quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 165,768 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,923,000 after acquiring an additional 109,816 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.25% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on LADR shares. StockNews.com lowered Ladder Capital from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, February 24th. B. Riley upgraded Ladder Capital to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their target price on 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 assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ladder Capital currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $13.29.

Ladder Capital Price Performance

Shares of NYSE LADR opened at $11.65 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.54 and a beta of 1.91. Ladder Capital Corp has a 12 month low of $10.21 and a 12 month high of $12.48. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $11.43 and its 200-day simple moving average is $11.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.05, a current ratio of 38.96 and a quick ratio of 38.96.

Ladder Capital (NYSE:LADR) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.25 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%. Analysts expect that Ladder Capital Corp will post 1.03 EPS for the current year.

Ladder Capital Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.23 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.90%. Ladder Capital’s payout ratio is 106.98%.

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.