Ladder Capital (NYSE:LADR) Rating Lowered to “Sell” at Wall Street Zen

Ladder Capital (NYSE:LADR) was downgraded by Wall Street Zen from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note issued on Friday.

LADR has been the subject of several other reports. HSBC set a $13.00 price objective on Ladder Capital in a report on Wednesday. Susquehanna set a $13.00 price objective on shares of Ladder Capital in a research report on Wednesday. Capital One Financial set a $13.00 price objective on shares of Ladder Capital in a research note on Wednesday. Citigroup restated a “market outperform” rating on shares of Ladder Capital in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Zacks Research lowered shares of Ladder Capital from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 30th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Ladder Capital currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $12.80.

Ladder Capital Price Performance

Shares of LADR stock opened at $11.07 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $11.05 and a 200 day moving average price of $11.06. Ladder Capital has a 52-week low of $9.68 and a 52-week high of $11.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.01, a quick ratio of 35.60 and a current ratio of 35.60. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.56, a P/E/G ratio of 7.07 and a beta of 1.01.

Ladder Capital (NYSE:LADR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 23rd. The real estate investment trust reported $0.25 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.23 by $0.02. Ladder Capital had a return on equity of 6.70% and a net margin of 19.26%.The company had revenue of $57.44 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $62.90 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.30 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Ladder Capital will post 1.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Jeffrey B. Steiner sold 19,481 shares of Ladder Capital stock in a transaction on Monday, October 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $10.89, for a total transaction of $212,148.09. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 27,311 shares in the company, valued at approximately $297,416.79. The trade was a 41.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 12.00% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ladder Capital

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. purchased a new stake in Ladder Capital during the 2nd quarter valued at about $6,289,000. Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Ladder Capital by 148.2% during the third quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 923,588 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $10,076,000 after purchasing an additional 551,478 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC boosted its position in Ladder Capital by 7.7% in the second quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 7,493,528 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $80,555,000 after buying an additional 538,147 shares during the last quarter. Susquehanna Advisors Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Ladder Capital in the third quarter valued at approximately $4,360,000. Finally, Access Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Ladder Capital in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $3,695,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.25% of the company’s stock.

Ladder Capital Company Profile

Ladder Capital Corp (NYSE: LADR) is a publicly traded commercial real estate finance company structured as a real estate investment trust. The firm specializes in originating, acquiring and managing a diversified portfolio of commercial mortgage loans, subordinate financings such as mezzanine loans and B-notes, and equity investments. In addition to direct lending activities, Ladder Capital invests in and manages commercial mortgage‐backed securities (CMBS) and commercial real estate collateralized loan obligations (CRE CLOs), providing financing across a range of property types including office, retail, multifamily, industrial and hospitality assets.

Since its inception in 2008, Ladder Capital has developed a platform that supports both balance-sheet lending and structured securitization.