Teacher Retirement System of Texas Increases Stock Position in KKR Real Estate Finance Trust $KREF

Teacher Retirement System of Texas lifted its holdings in shares of KKR Real Estate Finance Trust (NYSE:KREF) by 134.1% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 35,063 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 20,083 shares during the period. Teacher Retirement System of Texas owned about 0.05% of KKR Real Estate Finance Trust worth $308,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of KREF. Wedbush Securities Inc. grew its holdings in KKR Real Estate Finance Trust by 1.5% during the first quarter. Wedbush Securities Inc. now owns 80,386 shares of the company’s stock worth $868,000 after acquiring an additional 1,199 shares during the period. State of Alaska Department of Revenue boosted its position in shares of KKR Real Estate Finance Trust by 6.0% during the 2nd quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 33,895 shares of the company’s stock worth $296,000 after purchasing an additional 1,913 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP acquired a new position in shares of KKR Real Estate Finance Trust during the 1st quarter worth $28,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of KKR Real Estate Finance Trust by 1.4% in the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 287,754 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,108,000 after purchasing an additional 3,857 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Transce3nd LLC lifted its stake in shares of KKR Real Estate Finance Trust by 8.1% in the first quarter. Transce3nd LLC now owns 61,264 shares of the company’s stock valued at $660,000 after purchasing an additional 4,610 shares during the period. 70.23% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, COO W Patrick Mattson acquired 13,000 shares of KKR Real Estate Finance Trust stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 6th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $7.91 per share, with a total value of $102,830.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief operating officer owned 386,787 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,059,485.17. This represents a 3.48% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Christen E.J. Lee bought 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, November 7th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $7.80 per share, with a total value of $78,000.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 229,133 shares in the company, valued at $1,787,237.40. This trade represents a 4.56% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have bought 55,000 shares of company stock valued at $431,710 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 1.90% of the company’s stock.

KKR Real Estate Finance Trust Price Performance

KREF stock opened at $8.27 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $8.90 and its 200 day moving average price is $9.09. The firm has a market cap of $541.60 million, a P/E ratio of -23.63 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.63, a quick ratio of 423.43 and a current ratio of 423.43. KKR Real Estate Finance Trust has a 1 year low of $7.78 and a 1 year high of $11.98.

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

KKR Real Estate Finance Trust Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 30th were issued a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 12.1%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 30th. KKR Real Estate Finance Trust’s dividend payout ratio is -285.71%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have weighed in on KREF. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated a “neutral” rating and set a $9.00 target price (down from $9.50) on shares of KKR Real Estate Finance Trust in a research report on Monday, October 20th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price target on KKR Real Estate Finance Trust from $9.50 to $8.75 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on KKR Real Estate Finance Trust from $11.00 to $10.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 24th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d)” rating on shares of KKR Real Estate Finance Trust in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded KKR Real Estate Finance Trust from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, September 5th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target 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.