Stifel Financial Corp Boosts Stake in KKR Real Estate Finance Trust Inc. (NYSE:KREF)

Stifel Financial Corp lifted its stake in shares of KKR Real Estate Finance Trust Inc. (NYSE:KREF - Free Report) by 420.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 116,113 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 93,813 shares during the quarter. Stifel Financial Corp owned about 0.17% of KKR Real Estate Finance Trust worth $1,434,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of KREF. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its stake 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 acquiring an additional 935 shares in the last quarter. Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC purchased a new stake in shares of KKR Real Estate Finance Trust in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. increased its position 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 buying an additional 2,546 shares in the last quarter. Creative Planning raised its stake 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 buying an additional 5,809 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Algert Global LLC boosted its holdings in KKR Real Estate Finance Trust by 7.2% in the second quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 88,193 shares of the company's stock worth $798,000 after acquiring an additional 5,933 shares in the last quarter. 70.23% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

KKR Real Estate Finance Trust Stock Performance

KREF stock traded up $0.15 on Friday, hitting $10.46. The company had a trading volume of 2,235,539 shares, compared to its average volume of 524,936. The stock has a market cap of $727.73 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -34.87 and a beta of 0.98. The company has a current ratio of 277.63, a quick ratio of 277.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.75. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $11.56 and its 200 day simple moving average is $11.11. KKR Real Estate Finance Trust Inc. has a 12-month low of $8.71 and a 12-month high of $14.10.

KKR Real Estate Finance Trust (NYSE:KREF - Get Free Report) last issued 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 return on equity of 9.46% and a net margin of 0.40%. The company had revenue of $140.15 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $39.52 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.47 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that KKR Real Estate Finance Trust Inc. will post 1.4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

KKR Real Estate Finance Trust Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be paid a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 9.56%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 31st. KKR Real Estate Finance Trust's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -333.33%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

KREF has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. JMP Securities lifted their price target on KKR Real Estate Finance Trust from $12.50 to $13.00 and gave the stock a "market outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of KKR Real Estate Finance Trust from $13.00 to $14.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised shares of KKR Real Estate Finance Trust from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and raised their price target for the company from $11.50 to $13.00 in a research report on Thursday, September 5th. Raymond James decreased their price objective on shares of KKR Real Estate Finance Trust from $14.00 to $13.50 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on KKR Real Estate Finance Trust from $12.00 to $11.50 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $12.75.

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.