Ladder Capital Corp (LADR)

[jugs]

Exactly six months ago I liquidated my LADR position at an average price of $13.97. And now I find it's positioned about a half dollar beneath my sell point. I find this terribly unworthy of an investment, certainly for me.

Including distributions I don't think I gained much more than the value of the distributions themselves plus a couple of dollars per share in appreciation.

The trader side of me can't quite accept a limiting distribution as the sole profit-maker. Discounting the three IRA's I manage for my wife and me---accounts deliberately conservative for obvious reasons, my primary account is a general account. This account generated a 56% gain for all of 2017. Even including the year's results of those IRAs, my overall gain comes to 36.5%. LADR, then, would be enriching me by less than a quarter of even my IRA production gains! That's deplorable!

My cost basis in LADR had been $11.39. The close of today now stands about $2 above that. The only good thing in this is the 9.3% dividend aspect.

That's an awfully low-pitched standard. After all, I'm in a number of other plays with superior distribution bases yet the real gain lies in the compression factor in that the other picks are all showing massive upside, already accumulated and showing no relaxation. Thus it is that I continue beefing up positions.

LADR may become a good play for those more prepared to submit to a passive role in terms of income foraging but it's not for me as I crave more impressive results. After all, I have to live on my results.

]Still, I wish everybody a great year while hoping LADR prospers and finds itself able to increase quarterly payments.