Principal Financial Group Inc. Sells 63,110 Shares of KKR Real Estate Finance Trust Inc. (NYSE:KREF)

Principal Financial Group Inc. lessened its stake in shares of KKR Real Estate Finance Trust Inc. (NYSE:KREF - Free Report) by 18.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 275,024 shares of the company's stock after selling 63,110 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 0.40% of KKR Real Estate Finance Trust worth $3,397,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC bought a new stake in KKR Real Estate Finance Trust during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. EntryPoint Capital LLC bought a new position in KKR Real Estate Finance Trust during the first quarter worth $54,000. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. raised 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 purchasing an additional 2,546 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new stake in KKR Real Estate Finance Trust in the 2nd quarter valued at $138,000. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its position in KKR Real Estate Finance Trust by 17.3% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 16,846 shares of the company's stock worth $170,000 after purchasing an additional 2,481 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.23% of the company's stock.

KKR Real Estate Finance Trust Trading Down 0.2 %

KREF traded down $0.02 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $11.56. The stock had a trading volume of 288,176 shares, compared to its average volume of 527,031. KKR Real Estate Finance Trust Inc. has a 1-year low of $8.71 and a 1-year high of $14.12. The firm has a market capitalization of $804.26 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -38.53 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.75, a current ratio of 277.63 and a quick ratio of 277.63. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $11.93 and its 200-day simple moving average is $10.85.

KKR Real Estate Finance Trust (NYSE:KREF - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Monday, October 21st. The company reported $0.37 earnings per share 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 firm had revenue of $140.15 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $39.52 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.47 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that KKR Real Estate Finance Trust Inc. will post 1.4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

KKR Real Estate Finance Trust Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Investors of record on Monday, September 30th were given a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 8.65%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 30th. KKR Real Estate Finance Trust's dividend payout ratio is presently -333.33%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

KREF has been the topic of several research reports. JMP Securities boosted their price target on KKR Real Estate Finance Trust from $12.50 to $13.00 and gave the company a "market outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of KKR Real Estate Finance Trust from $11.50 to $12.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised KKR Real Estate Finance Trust from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $11.50 to $13.00 in a report on Thursday, September 5th. Raymond James lowered their price target on 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. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on KKR Real Estate Finance Trust from $13.00 to $14.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat, KKR Real Estate Finance Trust has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $12.83.

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.