State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D Increases Stock Position in Ladder Capital Corp (NYSE:LADR)

State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D raised its stake in shares of Ladder Capital Corp (NYSE:LADR) by 10.1% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 180,340 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after purchasing an additional 16,543 shares during the period. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D’s holdings in Ladder Capital were worth $2,018,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its position in Ladder Capital by 27.2% in the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 1,223,151 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $13,687,000 after purchasing an additional 261,681 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ladder Capital in the fourth quarter valued at $4,323,000. Longboard Asset Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of Ladder Capital in the 4th quarter valued at $160,000. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC acquired a new position in Ladder Capital during the 4th quarter worth about $112,000. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its holdings in Ladder Capital by 15.9% during the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 29,424 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $329,000 after acquiring an additional 4,027 shares during the period. 62.25% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ladder Capital Stock Performance

Shares of LADR opened at $11.58 on Monday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $11.31 and a 200-day simple moving average of $11.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.05, a quick ratio of 38.96 and a current ratio of 38.96. Ladder Capital Corp has a 1 year low of $10.20 and a 1 year high of $12.48. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.47 billion, a PE ratio of 13.46 and a beta of 1.92.

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

Ladder Capital Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st were issued a $0.23 dividend. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.95%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 31st. Ladder Capital’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 106.98%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

LADR has been the topic of several research reports. 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. B. Riley raised shares of Ladder Capital to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Ladder Capital currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $13.29.

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.