Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD Buys 458,530 Shares of KKR Real Estate Finance Trust Inc. (NYSE:KREF)

Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its stake in shares of KKR Real Estate Finance Trust Inc. (NYSE:KREF - Free Report) by 2,400.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 477,633 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 458,530 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD owned approximately 0.70% of KKR Real Estate Finance Trust worth $4,825,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS purchased a new stake in shares of KKR Real Estate Finance Trust during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $96,000. First Trust Advisors LP purchased a new stake in shares of KKR Real Estate Finance Trust during the 4th quarter valued at $129,000. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd bought a new stake in shares of KKR Real Estate Finance Trust during the 4th quarter worth $159,000. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd purchased a new position in shares of KKR Real Estate Finance Trust in the 4th quarter worth about $182,000. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC bought a new position in KKR Real Estate Finance Trust during the fourth quarter valued at about $213,000. 70.23% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

KKR Real Estate Finance Trust Price Performance

KREF traded up $0.11 during trading on Thursday, reaching $9.23. 412,353 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 499,901. KKR Real Estate Finance Trust Inc. has a 12-month low of $8.28 and a 12-month high of $12.95. The company's 50-day moving average is $9.97 and its two-hundred day moving average is $10.66. The company has a quick ratio of 296.16, a current ratio of 296.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.50. The company has a market cap of $625.51 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 51.25 and a beta of 0.95.

KKR Real Estate Finance Trust (NYSE:KREF - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 23rd. The company reported ($0.15) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.17 by ($0.32). The firm 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 net margin of 6.30% and a return on equity of 8.53%. Research analysts forecast that KKR Real Estate Finance Trust Inc. will post 1.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

KKR Real Estate Finance Trust Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st were given a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 31st. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 10.84%. KKR Real Estate Finance Trust's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 625.00%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have weighed in on KREF. JMP Securities dropped their target price on shares of KKR Real Estate Finance Trust from $13.00 to $12.00 and set a "market outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on KKR Real Estate Finance Trust from $11.50 to $9.50 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut KKR Real Estate Finance Trust from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating and set a $10.75 price target on the stock. in a research report on Monday, April 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $11.88.

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.