Ladder Capital (NYSE:LADR) Releases Quarterly Earnings Results, Hits Expectations

by · The Cerbat Gem

Ladder Capital (NYSE:LADR – Get Free Report) released its earnings results on Thursday. The real estate investment trust reported $0.24 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.24, FiscalAI reports. The firm had revenue of $57.76 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $56.50 million. Ladder Capital had a net margin of 12.62% and a return on equity of 5.87%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.23 earnings per share.

Here are the key takeaways from Ladder Capital’s conference call:

  • Ladder reported distributable earnings of $30.8 million, or $0.24 per share, and said the quarter reflected strong origination activity and continued earnings growth.
  • The company continued rotating capital into higher-yielding loans, originating $1.2 billion year-to-date and bringing balance-sheet loans to about 50% of total assets. Management expects this shift to lift net interest income over time.
  • Ladder emphasized its balance-sheet strength, with 2.3x adjusted leverage, $1.1 billion of liquidity, and a predominantly unsecured funding profile. S&P also revised its outlook to positive, moving the company closer to investment-grade across all agencies.
  • The company repurchased $8 million of stock in the quarter at a price well below book value, and management said it will keep buying back shares opportunistically while the stock trades at a discount. They also reiterated a $0.23 per share dividend.
  • Credit quality remained manageable, though Ladder added one office loan to non-accrual and resolved another office loan through foreclosure. Management said the $47 million CECL reserve remains sufficient and expects the non-accrual to be resolved by the fourth quarter.

Ladder Capital Trading Up 2.3%

NYSE LADR opened at $9.76 on Friday. Ladder Capital has a one year low of $9.43 and a one year high of $11.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.79, a current ratio of 58.90 and a quick ratio of 58.90. The firm has a market cap of $1.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.23, a P/E/G ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 0.95. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $10.04 and its 200-day moving average is $10.27.

Ladder Capital Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th were given a dividend of $0.23 per share. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 9.4%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 30th. Ladder Capital’s payout ratio is presently 219.05%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Robert Perelman sold 17,505 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $10.25, for a total value of $179,426.25. Following the sale, the insider owned 428,684 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,394,011. The trade was a 3.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 12.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ladder Capital

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of LADR. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC increased its position in Ladder Capital by 89.0% during the 2nd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 10,425 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $112,000 after buying an additional 4,910 shares during the period. Vise Technologies Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Ladder Capital during the 4th quarter worth approximately $113,000. Zacks Investment Management bought a new position in shares of Ladder Capital during the third quarter worth approximately $122,000. CIBC Bancorp USA Inc. bought a new position in shares of Ladder Capital during the third quarter worth approximately $133,000. Finally, Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. acquired a new stake in shares of Ladder Capital in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $153,000. 62.25% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

LADR has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded Ladder Capital from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 2nd. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Ladder Capital from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price target on Ladder Capital from $11.50 to $11.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 8th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Ladder Capital has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $12.75.

Check Out Our Latest Analysis on LADR

Key Stories Impacting Ladder Capital

Here are the key news stories impacting Ladder Capital this week:

About Ladder Capital

(Get Free Report)

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.

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