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

Principal Financial Group Inc. decreased its position in KKR Real Estate Finance Trust Inc. (NYSE:KREF) by 18.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and 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 about 0.40% of KKR Real Estate Finance Trust worth $3,397,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its stake in shares of KKR Real Estate Finance Trust by 144.9% in the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 145,896 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,802,000 after purchasing an additional 86,327 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC boosted its holdings in KKR Real Estate Finance Trust by 311.8% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 99,319 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,226,000 after buying an additional 75,200 shares during the period. Algert Global LLC grew its stake in KKR Real Estate Finance Trust by 88.6% in the 3rd quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 166,373 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,055,000 after buying an additional 78,180 shares in the last quarter. Zacks Investment Management bought a new stake in KKR Real Estate Finance Trust during the 3rd quarter valued at $2,792,000. Finally, Drive Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of KKR Real Estate Finance Trust during the third quarter worth $898,000. 70.23% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on KREF. Raymond James reduced their price target on KKR Real Estate Finance Trust from $14.00 to $13.50 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on KKR Real Estate Finance Trust from $12.00 to $11.50 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, December 9th. JMP Securities increased their price target on shares of KKR Real Estate Finance Trust from $12.50 to $13.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of 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 research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $12.75.

KKR Real Estate Finance Trust Stock Performance

NYSE:KREF opened at $10.38 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $722.17 million, a P/E ratio of -34.60 and a beta of 0.98. The company has a quick ratio of 277.63, a current ratio of 277.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.75. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $11.25 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $11.16. KKR Real Estate Finance Trust Inc. has a twelve month low of $8.71 and a twelve month high of $13.29.

KKR Real Estate Finance Trust (NYSE:KREF) last announced its earnings results on Monday, October 21st. The company reported $0.37 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.34 by $0.03. KKR Real Estate Finance Trust had a net margin of 0.40% and a return on equity of 9.46%. The business had revenue of $140.15 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $39.52 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.47 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that KKR Real Estate Finance Trust Inc. will post 1.4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

KKR Real Estate Finance Trust Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 9.63%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 31st. KKR Real Estate Finance Trust’s dividend payout ratio is currently -333.33%.

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.