Billionaire Lee Cooperman Says The Market Is Expensive But These 10 Stocks Are Cheap

9. Arbor Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ABR)

Number of Hedge Fund Investors: 24

Arbor Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ABR)’s core business focuses on originating and servicing loans, particularly in the multifamily and commercial real estate sectors. Demand for these loans has stayed strong, and Arbor Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ABR) has effectively managed its portfolio, consistently delivering solid performance, even in tough economic times.

Additionally, Arbor Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ABR) offers an attractive dividend yield of about 10.4%, making it appealing to income-focused investors. Arbor Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ABR)’s reliable track record of paying dividends further underscores its financial stability and commitment to shareholders.

Arbor Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ABR) reported another profitable quarter, with GAAP earnings of $0.25 per share and distributable earnings of $0.45 per share. The distributable earnings are particularly important as they cover Arbor Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ABR)’s quarterly dividend, which is currently set at $0.43 per share.

Arbor Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ABR)’s President and CEO, Ivan Kaufman had this to say in its recent earnings call:

“We’re very pleased with the success we have had to-date and expect to remain extremely busy over the next few months and steadfast now approach as we continue to manage through the back balance of this downturn. Clearly in this environment having adequate liquidity is paramount to our success. As a result, we have focused heavily on maintaining a very strong liquidity position. Currently we have approximately $1 billion of cash between $800 million of corporate cash and $600 million of cash in our CLOs that result in additional cash equivalent of approximately $150 million. And having this level of liquidity is crucial in this environment, as it provides us with the flexibility needed to manage through this downturn and taking advantage of opportunities that will exist in this market to generate superior returns on our capital.

As you may recall a few months back, we allocated $150 million of our capital stock buyback to us through buyback stock, knowing full well that will be volatility in the market allow us to potentially repurchase our stock at discounts to book value and generate high double-digit returns on capital. In April, we repurchased approximately $11.4 million of stock at an average price of $12.19 with a 4% discount on book value and generating a current dividend yield of 14% and the yield of approximately 16% on distributable earnings. This is a tremendous return on capital and with around 138 million of remaining capital available for this strategy will continue to be opportunistic in our approach to buying back stock at a volatility process. We also continue to do an excellent job of deleveraging our balance sheet and reducing our exposure to our term debt.”