Azora Capital LP Invests $20.17 Million in KKR Real Estate Finance Trust Inc. (NYSE:KREF)

Azora Capital LP acquired a new stake in shares of KKR Real Estate Finance Trust Inc. (NYSE:KREF) during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 1,632,979 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,167,000. KKR Real Estate Finance Trust makes up 1.1% of Azora Capital LP’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 26th largest position. Azora Capital LP owned approximately 2.35% of KKR Real Estate Finance Trust at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co boosted its holdings in shares of KKR Real Estate Finance Trust by 44.1% in the first quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 72,930 shares of the company’s stock valued at $733,000 after buying an additional 22,312 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its stake in KKR Real Estate Finance Trust by 17.3% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 16,846 shares of the company’s stock worth $170,000 after purchasing an additional 2,481 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new position in KKR Real Estate Finance Trust during the 2nd quarter worth about $138,000. TrueMark Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of KKR Real Estate Finance Trust in the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,305,000. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its holdings in shares of KKR Real Estate Finance Trust by 31.2% in the second quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 356,891 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,230,000 after purchasing an additional 84,889 shares in the last quarter. 70.23% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

KKR Real Estate Finance Trust Stock Down 0.5 %

NYSE:KREF opened at $11.63 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $809.10 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -38.77 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a quick ratio of 277.63, a current ratio of 277.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.75. KKR Real Estate Finance Trust Inc. has a twelve month low of $8.71 and a twelve month high of $14.12. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $11.82 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $10.94.

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

KKR Real Estate Finance Trust Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Investors of record on Monday, September 30th were paid a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 30th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 8.60%. KKR Real Estate Finance Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -333.32%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on KREF shares. Raymond James decreased their price objective on KKR Real Estate Finance Trust from $14.00 to $13.50 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. JMP Securities raised 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 research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted 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 report on Friday, September 20th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded shares of KKR Real Estate Finance Trust from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $11.50 to $13.00 in a report on Thursday, September 5th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of KKR Real Estate Finance Trust from $11.50 to $12.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $12.83.

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.