Ladder Capital Corp (NYSE:LADR) Sees Significant Growth in Short Interest

Ladder Capital Corp (NYSE:LADR) was the target of a large growth in short interest in October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 1,150,000 shares, a growth of 52.0% from the October 15th total of 756,600 shares. Currently, 1.0% of the company’s stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 733,100 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.6 days.

Ladder Capital Price Performance

Shares of Ladder Capital stock traded down $0.06 during trading on Friday, hitting $11.64. 364,979 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 636,366. Ladder Capital has a twelve month low of $10.10 and a twelve month high of $12.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.34, a current ratio of 54.44 and a quick ratio of 54.44. The company has a market cap of $1.49 billion, a PE ratio of 15.32 and a beta of 1.94. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $11.54 and its 200 day moving average price is $11.51.

Ladder Capital (NYSE:LADR) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.30 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.26 by $0.04. Ladder Capital had a return on equity of 9.14% and a net margin of 18.90%. The company had revenue of $128.64 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $60.85 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.28 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Ladder Capital will post 1 earnings per share for the current year.

Ladder Capital Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 30th were given a $0.23 dividend. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.90%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 30th. Ladder Capital’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 121.05%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have commented on LADR. BTIG Research reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $13.50 price target on shares of Ladder Capital in a research report on Friday, July 19th. JMP Securities reiterated a “market outperform” rating and set a $13.50 target price on shares of Ladder Capital in a research note on Friday, August 30th. Bank of America raised their price target on shares of Ladder Capital from $11.00 to $13.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, July 29th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Ladder Capital from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Finally, B. Riley lifted their target price on Ladder Capital from $13.00 to $14.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $13.33.

Insider Activity

In related news, President Pamela Mccormack sold 50,000 shares of Ladder Capital stock in a transaction on Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $12.25, for a total value of $612,500.00. Following the transaction, the president now owns 548,863 shares in the company, valued at $6,723,571.75. This trade represents a 8.35 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Robert Perelman sold 25,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $12.15, for a total transaction of $303,750.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 351,453 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,270,153.95. This trade represents a 6.64 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 12.00% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Quest Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Ladder Capital by 13,513.5% during the third quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 7,079 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $82,000 after buying an additional 7,027 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP boosted its stake in Ladder Capital by 1,832.9% in the third quarter. Quarry LP now owns 8,118 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $94,000 after purchasing an additional 7,698 shares in the last quarter. MQS Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ladder Capital during the second quarter worth $128,000. Algert Global LLC bought a new position in Ladder Capital in the 2nd quarter valued at $130,000. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ladder Capital during the first quarter worth $148,000. 62.25% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.