Northern Trust Corp Increases Stock Position in KKR Real Estate Finance Trust Inc. (NYSE:KREF)

Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in shares of KKR Real Estate Finance Trust Inc. (NYSE:KREF - Free Report) by 21.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 690,826 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 123,312 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp owned approximately 1.01% of KKR Real Estate Finance Trust worth $6,977,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in KREF. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its position in shares of KKR Real Estate Finance Trust by 5.1% during the fourth quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 41,975 shares of the company's stock worth $424,000 after buying an additional 2,051 shares in the last quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in KKR Real Estate Finance Trust by 11.4% during the 4th quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC now owns 261,402 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,640,000 after acquiring an additional 26,811 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its holdings in KKR Real Estate Finance Trust by 2,400.3% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 477,633 shares of the company's stock worth $4,825,000 after acquiring an additional 458,530 shares in the last quarter. Dark Forest Capital Management LP bought a new stake in shares of KKR Real Estate Finance Trust in the 4th quarter worth about $301,000. Finally, Stifel Financial Corp raised its stake in shares of KKR Real Estate Finance Trust by 18.4% in the 4th quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 137,500 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,389,000 after purchasing an additional 21,387 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.23% of the company's stock.

KKR Real Estate Finance Trust Stock Performance

Shares of KREF stock opened at $9.36 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $634.66 million, a P/E ratio of 52.00 and a beta of 0.95. The business has a 50 day moving average of $9.75 and a two-hundred day moving average of $10.52. KKR Real Estate Finance Trust Inc. has a 52 week low of $8.28 and a 52 week high of $12.95. The company has a quick ratio of 296.16, a current ratio of 296.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.50.

KKR Real Estate Finance Trust (NYSE:KREF - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The company reported ($0.15) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.17 by ($0.32). The company had revenue of $31.34 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.77 million. KKR Real Estate Finance Trust had a return on equity of 8.53% and a net margin of 6.30%. As a group, analysts anticipate that KKR Real Estate Finance Trust Inc. will post 1.05 EPS for the current year.

KKR Real Estate Finance Trust Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st were issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 10.68%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 31st. KKR Real Estate Finance Trust's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 625.00%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

KREF has been the subject of a number of research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods downgraded KKR Real Estate Finance Trust from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating and set a $10.75 price target for the company. in a research note on Monday, April 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on KKR Real Estate Finance Trust from $11.50 to $9.50 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, JMP Securities dropped their price target on KKR Real Estate Finance Trust from $13.00 to $12.00 and set a "market outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $11.88.

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.

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