Stephens Inc. AR Cuts Stake in KKR Real Estate Finance Trust Inc. (NYSE:KREF)

Stephens Inc. AR reduced its stake in KKR Real Estate Finance Trust Inc. (NYSE:KREF) by 11.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 566,035 shares of the company’s stock after selling 71,248 shares during the period. Stephens Inc. AR’s holdings in KKR Real Estate Finance Trust were worth $5,717,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in KREF. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its position in shares of KKR Real Estate Finance Trust by 2.5% in the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 38,542 shares of the company’s stock worth $349,000 after purchasing an additional 935 shares during the period. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. lifted its stake in 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 valued at $159,000 after acquiring an additional 2,546 shares during the period. Creative Planning lifted its position in KKR Real Estate Finance Trust by 37.0% during the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 21,524 shares of the company’s stock valued at $266,000 after purchasing an additional 5,809 shares during the period. FMR LLC boosted its stake in shares of KKR Real Estate Finance Trust by 3.4% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 255,599 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,157,000 after buying an additional 8,448 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Abel Hall LLC bought a new stake in shares of KKR Real Estate Finance Trust during the 3rd quarter valued at about $138,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.23% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on KREF shares. JMP Securities increased their target price on shares of KKR Real Estate Finance Trust from $12.50 to $13.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price objective on KKR Real Estate Finance Trust from $13.00 to $12.25 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on KKR Real Estate Finance Trust from $11.50 to $10.50 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, Raymond James cut their price objective on shares of KKR Real Estate Finance Trust from $14.00 to $13.50 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $12.46.

KKR Real Estate Finance Trust Stock Performance

Shares of KREF stock opened at $10.93 on Tuesday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $10.58 and its two-hundred day moving average is $11.32. KKR Real Estate Finance Trust Inc. has a 12-month low of $8.71 and a 12-month high of $12.95. The company has a market capitalization of $751.25 million, a P/E ratio of 60.74 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a current ratio of 296.16, a quick ratio of 277.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.50.

KKR Real Estate Finance Trust (NYSE:KREF) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 3rd. The company reported $0.28 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.08 by $0.20. KKR Real Estate Finance Trust had a return on equity of 8.53% and a net margin of 6.30%. Analysts expect that KKR Real Estate Finance Trust Inc. will post 1.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

KKR Real Estate Finance Trust Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st were paid a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 9.15%. KKR Real Estate Finance Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 555.56%.

KKR Real Estate Finance Trust Company 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.