The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Buys 935 Shares of KKR Real Estate Finance Trust Inc. (NYSE:KREF)

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its stake in shares of KKR Real Estate Finance Trust Inc. (NYSE:KREF) by 2.5% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 38,542 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 935 shares during the quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company owned 0.06% of KKR Real Estate Finance Trust worth $349,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Public Sector Pension Investment Board grew its position in KKR Real Estate Finance Trust by 6.1% during the second quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 128,155 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,160,000 after buying an additional 7,333 shares in the last quarter. Wedbush Securities Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of KKR Real Estate Finance Trust during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $427,000. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its position in shares of KKR Real Estate Finance Trust by 31.2% during the second quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 356,891 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,230,000 after purchasing an additional 84,889 shares during the period. TrueMark Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of KKR Real Estate Finance Trust in the second quarter valued at $1,305,000. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new position in shares of KKR Real Estate Finance Trust in the second quarter valued at $138,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.23% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of KKR Real Estate Finance Trust from $11.50 to $12.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday. BTIG Research reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $11.50 target price on shares of KKR Real Estate Finance Trust in a research report on Friday, July 19th. Raymond James increased their price target on shares of KKR Real Estate Finance Trust from $13.00 to $14.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on KKR Real Estate Finance Trust from $13.00 to $14.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded KKR Real Estate Finance Trust from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $11.50 to $13.00 in a research note on Thursday, September 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $12.50.

KKR Real Estate Finance Trust Price Performance

NYSE:KREF opened at $12.01 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 392.62, a current ratio of 392.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.86. The firm has a market cap of $832.11 million, a PE ratio of -26.10 and a beta of 0.99. KKR Real Estate Finance Trust Inc. has a 12 month low of $8.71 and a 12 month high of $14.12. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $11.87 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $10.50.

KKR Real Estate Finance Trust (NYSE:KREF) last posted its earnings results on Monday, July 22nd. The company reported ($1.57) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.30 by ($1.87). The firm had revenue of $47.60 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $45.47 million. KKR Real Estate Finance Trust had a net margin of 5.88% and a return on equity of 9.88%. The business’s revenue was down 6.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.48 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that KKR Real Estate Finance Trust Inc. will post 1.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

KKR Real Estate Finance Trust Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 30th were paid a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 8.33%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 30th. KKR Real Estate Finance Trust’s dividend payout ratio is currently -217.39%.

KKR Real Estate Finance Trust Profile

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.