First Trust Advisors LP Sells 553,262 Shares of Ladder Capital Corp (NYSE:LADR)

First Trust Advisors LP lessened its holdings in Ladder Capital Corp (NYSE:LADR) by 44.6% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 687,900 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 553,262 shares during the quarter. First Trust Advisors LP’s holdings in Ladder Capital were worth $7,698,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in Ladder Capital by 2.8% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,678,115 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $18,778,000 after purchasing an additional 45,040 shares during the period. Barclays PLC grew its holdings in Ladder Capital by 28.3% during 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 in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Ladder Capital by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,680,014 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $18,799,000 after buying an additional 39,695 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ladder Capital in the fourth quarter worth $4,323,000. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Ladder Capital in the fourth quarter worth $7,981,000. 62.25% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Ladder Capital Trading Up 0.9 %

LADR opened at $10.48 on Wednesday. Ladder Capital Corp has a 12 month low of $9.68 and a 12 month high of $12.48. The company has a current ratio of 38.96, a quick ratio of 38.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.05. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $11.05 and a 200 day moving average of $11.30. The firm has a market cap of $1.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.18 and a beta of 1.44.

Ladder Capital (NYSE:LADR) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.20 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.22 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $51.20 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $65.15 million. Ladder Capital had a net margin of 21.36% and a return on equity of 8.77%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.33 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Ladder Capital Corp will post 1.03 EPS for the current year.

Ladder Capital Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st were paid a dividend of $0.23 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 31st. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 8.78%. Ladder Capital’s dividend payout ratio is presently 112.20%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have issued reports on LADR. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price target on shares of Ladder Capital from $12.75 to $12.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 7th. B. Riley upgraded Ladder Capital to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Ladder Capital from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, February 24th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $13.17.

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.