KKR Real Estate Finance Trust (NYSE:KREF) COO W Patrick Mattson Buys 40,000 Shares of Stock

KKR Real Estate Finance Trust (NYSE:KREF) COO W Patrick Mattson purchased 40,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, April 24th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $6.03 per share, for a total transaction of $241,200.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief operating officer directly owned 500,287 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,016,730.61. This trade represents a 8.69% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink.

KKR Real Estate Finance Trust Price Performance

Shares of KKR Real Estate Finance Trust stock opened at $5.88 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.90, a current ratio of 407.64 and a quick ratio of 407.64. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $6.59 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $7.66. The stock has a market capitalization of $377.76 million, a P/E ratio of -3.16 and a beta of 0.91. KKR Real Estate Finance Trust has a one year low of $5.25 and a one year high of $9.98.

KKR Real Estate Finance Trust (NYSE:KREF) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The company reported ($0.06) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.11 by ($0.17). The company had revenue of $20.89 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $28.76 million. KKR Real Estate Finance Trust had a negative return on equity of 0.78% and a negative net margin of 23.55%. Analysts forecast that KKR Real Estate Finance Trust will post 0.11 EPS for the current year.

KKR Real Estate Finance Trust Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 30th. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.8%. KKR Real Estate Finance Trust’s payout ratio is -53.76%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on KREF shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their target price on KKR Real Estate Finance Trust from $7.00 to $6.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Wall Street Zen cut KKR Real Estate Finance Trust from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, April 18th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on KKR Real Estate Finance Trust from $10.00 to $9.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d)” rating on shares of KKR Real Estate Finance Trust in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Finally, Zacks Research raised KKR Real Estate Finance Trust from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, April 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $8.80.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On KKR Real Estate Finance Trust

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in KREF. Hantz Financial Services Inc. grew its stake in KKR Real Estate Finance Trust by 210.5% in the fourth quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 3,099 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 2,101 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its stake in KKR Real Estate Finance Trust by 178.3% in the fourth quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 3,537 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 2,266 shares during the period. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. grew its stake in KKR Real Estate Finance Trust by 100.0% in the second quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 3,450 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 1,725 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in KKR Real Estate Finance Trust by 742.0% in the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,151 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 3,658 shares during the period. Finally, Cloud Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in KKR Real Estate Finance Trust in the third quarter worth $48,000. 70.23% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About KKR Real Estate Finance Trust

KKR Real Estate Finance Trust, Inc (NYSE: KREF) is a mortgage real estate investment trust sponsored by KKR & Co Inc The company focuses on originating, acquiring, financing and managing a diversified portfolio of commercial real estate debt and real estate-related assets across the United States and select European markets.

The trust’s investment strategy is centered on lending to high-quality office, industrial, retail, multifamily and hotel properties. Its portfolio primarily consists of senior mortgage loans, mezzanine loans, floating-rate debt securities and preferred equity positions.