Van ECK Associates Corp Buys 4,841 Shares of KKR Real Estate Finance Trust Inc. (NYSE:KREF)

Van ECK Associates Corp increased its position in KKR Real Estate Finance Trust Inc. (NYSE:KREF) by 2.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 235,703 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,841 shares during the quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp’s holdings in KKR Real Estate Finance Trust were worth $3,118,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of KREF. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund grew its position in KKR Real Estate Finance Trust by 4.6% during the fourth quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 35,542 shares of the company’s stock worth $470,000 after buying an additional 1,571 shares in the last quarter. Significant Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of KKR Real Estate Finance Trust during the 4th quarter valued at about $2,838,000. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System purchased a new position in shares of KKR Real Estate Finance Trust during the fourth quarter worth about $385,000. Autumn Glory Partners LLC increased its position in shares of KKR Real Estate Finance Trust by 30.0% in the fourth quarter. Autumn Glory Partners LLC now owns 13,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $172,000 after purchasing an additional 3,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of KKR Real Estate Finance Trust by 48.7% in the fourth quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 105,414 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,395,000 after purchasing an additional 34,538 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.23% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, COO W Patrick Mattson purchased 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 8th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $9.72 per share, with a total value of $97,200.00. Following the purchase, the chief operating officer now directly owns 308,446 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,998,095.12. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, COO W Patrick Mattson purchased 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 8th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $9.72 per share, with a total value of $97,200.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 308,446 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,998,095.12. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Matthew A. Salem acquired 26,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 8th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $9.72 per share, for a total transaction of $252,720.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 460,309 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,474,203.48. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 1.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

KKR Real Estate Finance Trust Price Performance

KREF stock opened at $9.68 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.20, a quick ratio of 364.56 and a current ratio of 364.56. The firm has a market cap of $670.92 million, a P/E ratio of -21.04 and a beta of 0.97. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $9.81 and its 200 day moving average is $11.20. KKR Real Estate Finance Trust Inc. has a 52 week low of $9.09 and a 52 week high of $14.12.

KKR Real Estate Finance Trust (NYSE:KREF) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 23rd. The company reported $0.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.37 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $151.62 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $43.16 million. KKR Real Estate Finance Trust had a positive return on equity of 10.38% and a negative net margin of 1.39%. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.48 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that KKR Real Estate Finance Trust Inc. will post 1.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their target price on shares of KKR Real Estate Finance Trust from $10.00 to $9.75 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of KKR Real Estate Finance Trust from $11.50 to $10.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. JMP Securities reduced their target price on KKR Real Estate Finance Trust from $14.50 to $13.00 and set a “market outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 7th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on KKR Real Estate Finance Trust from $12.00 to $10.50 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 8th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, KKR Real Estate Finance Trust has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $11.96.

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.