Ladder Capital Corp (NYSE:LADR) Shares Purchased by Franklin Resources Inc.

Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in Ladder Capital Corp (NYSE:LADR) by 98.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 832,848 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after buying an additional 414,135 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. owned approximately 0.65% of Ladder Capital worth $9,320,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in LADR. FMR LLC raised its position in shares of Ladder Capital by 11.3% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 124,853 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,448,000 after buying an additional 12,638 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its position in Ladder Capital by 34.4% in the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 34,709 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $403,000 after purchasing an additional 8,887 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its stake in shares of Ladder Capital by 21.6% in the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 264,655 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $3,070,000 after purchasing an additional 47,085 shares during the last quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Ladder Capital by 80.9% during the 3rd quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 30,296 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $351,000 after purchasing an additional 13,545 shares during the period. Finally, Stifel Financial Corp increased its position in shares of Ladder Capital by 196.3% during the 3rd quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 165,768 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,923,000 after purchasing an additional 109,816 shares during the last quarter. 62.25% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ladder Capital Price Performance

Ladder Capital stock opened at $10.00 on Wednesday. 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 company has a fifty day simple moving average of $11.45 and a 200-day simple moving average of $11.44. The stock has a market cap of $1.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.62 and a beta of 1.44. Ladder Capital Corp has a 12-month low of $9.91 and a 12-month high of $12.48.

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

Ladder Capital Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.23 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 9.20%. Ladder Capital’s payout ratio is currently 106.98%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Ladder Capital 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.