Van ECK Associates Corp Raises Position in KKR Real Estate Finance Trust Inc. (NYSE:KREF)

Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its stake in shares of KKR Real Estate Finance Trust Inc. (NYSE:KREF) by 27.6% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 455,291 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 98,400 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp’s holdings in KKR Real Estate Finance Trust were worth $5,372,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of KREF. Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC purchased a new position in KKR Real Estate Finance Trust during the 3rd quarter worth $25,000. EntryPoint Capital LLC bought a new stake in KKR Real Estate Finance Trust in the 1st quarter worth about $54,000. SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in KKR Real Estate Finance Trust in the 2nd quarter valued at about $138,000. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. lifted its position in shares of KKR Real Estate Finance Trust by 24.6% during the 3rd quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. now owns 12,885 shares of the company’s stock worth $159,000 after buying an additional 2,546 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its stake in shares of KKR Real Estate Finance Trust by 17.3% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 16,846 shares of the company’s stock worth $170,000 after buying an additional 2,481 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.23% of the company’s stock.

KKR Real Estate Finance Trust Price Performance

NYSE KREF opened at $11.99 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 277.63, a current ratio of 277.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.75. The company has a market cap of $834.14 million, a PE ratio of -39.97 and a beta of 0.99. KKR Real Estate Finance Trust Inc. has a 52 week low of $8.71 and a 52 week high of $14.12. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $12.01 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $10.71.

KKR Real Estate Finance Trust (NYSE:KREF) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, October 21st. The company reported $0.37 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.34 by $0.03. KKR Real Estate Finance Trust had a net margin of 0.40% and a return on equity of 9.46%. The company had revenue of $140.15 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $39.52 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.47 EPS. Research analysts predict that KKR Real Estate Finance Trust Inc. will post 1.4 earnings per share for the current year.

KKR Real Estate Finance Trust Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Investors of record on Monday, September 30th were paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 30th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 8.34%. KKR Real Estate Finance Trust’s payout ratio is -333.32%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

KREF has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. BTIG Research reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $11.50 price target on shares of KKR Real Estate Finance Trust in a research report on Friday, July 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on KKR Real Estate Finance Trust from $11.50 to $12.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Raymond James reduced their price target on shares of KKR Real Estate Finance Trust from $14.00 to $13.50 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of KKR Real Estate Finance Trust from $13.00 to $14.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Finally, JMP Securities increased their target price on shares of KKR Real Estate Finance Trust from $12.50 to $13.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $12.83.

About KKR Real Estate Finance Trust

KKR Real Estate Finance Trust Inc, a mortgage real estate investment trust, focuses primarily on originating and acquiring transitional senior loans secured by commercial real estate (CRE) assets. It engages in the origination and purchase of credit investments related to CRE, including leveraged and unleveraged commercial real estate loans.