Ladder Capital (NYSE:LADR) Stock Passes Below 50-Day Moving Average – Should You Sell?

Ladder Capital Corp (NYSE:LADR) shares passed below its 50-day moving average during trading on Wednesday . The stock has a 50-day moving average of $10.17 and traded as low as $9.93. Ladder Capital shares last traded at $9.9650, with a volume of 843,752 shares trading hands.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently commented on LADR. Weiss Ratings lowered Ladder Capital from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Ladder Capital from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 2nd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price objective on shares of Ladder Capital from $11.50 to $11.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 8th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ladder Capital has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $12.75.

Ladder Capital Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $1.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 0.95. The company’s 50 day moving average is $10.17 and its 200-day moving average is $10.43. The company has a current ratio of 58.90, a quick ratio of 58.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.79.

Ladder Capital (NYSE:LADR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 23rd. The real estate investment trust reported $0.22 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.22. Ladder Capital had a net margin of 13.82% and a return on equity of 5.73%. The business had revenue of $51.88 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $57.03 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.20 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Ladder Capital Corp will post 0.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ladder Capital Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 30th will be given a dividend of $0.23 per share. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 9.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 30th. Ladder Capital’s dividend payout ratio is 209.09%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Ladder Capital news, insider Robert Perelman sold 17,505 shares of Ladder Capital stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $10.25, for a total value of $179,426.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 428,684 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,394,011. The trade was a 3.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 12.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ladder Capital

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Focus Partners Wealth bought a new position in Ladder Capital in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $7,989,000. M&T Bank Corp purchased a new position in shares of Ladder Capital in the fourth quarter worth $7,943,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Ladder Capital by 30.4% during the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 2,930,524 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $32,206,000 after purchasing an additional 682,511 shares in the last quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. bought a new position in shares of Ladder Capital during the second quarter valued at $6,289,000. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its position 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 valued at $10,076,000 after buying an additional 551,478 shares during the last quarter. 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.