Prudential Financial Inc. Grows Stake in KKR Real Estate Finance Trust $KREF

Prudential Financial Inc. boosted its stake in shares of KKR Real Estate Finance Trust (NYSE:KREF) by 262.2% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 204,308 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 147,895 shares during the quarter. Prudential Financial Inc.’s holdings in KKR Real Estate Finance Trust were worth $1,792,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of KKR Real Estate Finance Trust by 4.6% in the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 666,973 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,203,000 after purchasing an additional 29,112 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in KKR Real Estate Finance Trust by 5.9% in the first quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 560,847 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,057,000 after buying an additional 31,097 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC boosted its stake in KKR Real Estate Finance Trust by 25.9% during the first quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 353,216 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,815,000 after buying an additional 72,566 shares during the period. Condor Capital Management increased its position in KKR Real Estate Finance Trust by 27.6% during the second quarter. Condor Capital Management now owns 344,625 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,022,000 after acquiring an additional 74,532 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Voya Investment Management LLC increased its position in KKR Real Estate Finance Trust by 25.4% during the first quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC now owns 327,746 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,540,000 after acquiring an additional 66,344 shares during the last quarter. 70.23% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at KKR Real Estate Finance Trust

In other news, CEO Matthew A. Salem acquired 32,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 6th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $7.84 per share, for a total transaction of $250,880.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer directly owned 561,825 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,404,708. The trade was a 6.04% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Ralph F. Rosenberg sold 125,289 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $8.25, for a total transaction of $1,033,634.25. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have acquired a total of 55,000 shares of company stock valued at $431,710 over the last 90 days. 1.90% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

KKR Real Estate Finance Trust Price Performance

KKR Real Estate Finance Trust stock opened at $8.56 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.63, a current ratio of 423.43 and a quick ratio of 423.43. The stock has a market cap of $560.86 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -24.47 and a beta of 0.89. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $8.46 and a two-hundred day moving average of $8.97. KKR Real Estate Finance Trust has a 1 year low of $7.78 and a 1 year high of $11.70.

KKR Real Estate Finance Trust (NYSE:KREF) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 21st. The company reported ($0.03) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.01 by ($0.04). The company had revenue of $31.41 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $29.90 million. KKR Real Estate Finance Trust had a negative net margin of 0.12% and a negative return on equity of 0.60%. On average, research analysts forecast that KKR Real Estate Finance Trust will post 1.05 earnings per share for the current year.

KKR Real Estate Finance Trust Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 30th were given a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 30th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 11.7%. KKR Real Estate Finance Trust’s payout ratio is -285.71%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price target on shares of KKR Real Estate Finance Trust from $9.50 to $8.75 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 23rd. Zacks Research raised shares of KKR Real Estate Finance Trust from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, September 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated a “neutral” rating and set a $9.00 target price (down previously from $9.50) on shares of KKR Real Estate Finance Trust in a research report on Monday, October 20th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on KKR Real Estate Finance Trust from $11.00 to $10.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 24th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d)” rating on shares of KKR Real Estate Finance Trust in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, KKR Real Estate Finance Trust has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $9.94.

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.