KKR Real Estate Finance Trust Inc. (NYSE:KREF) Given Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of KKR Real Estate Finance Trust Inc. (NYSE:KREF) have been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the six ratings firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price objective among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $11.96.

KREF has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price objective 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 report on Friday. JMP Securities dropped their price objective 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on 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. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on KKR Real Estate Finance Trust from $12.00 to $10.50 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 8th.

KKR Real Estate Finance Trust Stock Performance

KREF stock opened at $9.61 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 364.56, a current ratio of 364.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.20. The firm has a market cap of $665.76 million, a PE ratio of -20.88 and a beta of 0.96. The business has a 50 day moving average of $9.80 and a 200-day moving average of $11.26. KKR Real Estate Finance Trust has a 12-month low of $9.09 and a 12-month high of $14.12.

KKR Real Estate Finance Trust (NYSE:KREF) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 23rd. The company reported $0.39 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.37 by $0.02. The business 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 quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.48 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that KKR Real Estate Finance Trust will post 1.33 earnings per share for the current year.

KKR Real Estate Finance Trust Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 28th were issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 27th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 10.41%. KKR Real Estate Finance Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -217.39%.

Insider Buying and Selling at KKR Real Estate Finance Trust

In other news, COO W Patrick Mattson acquired 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 8th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $9.72 per share, for a total transaction of $97,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 308,446 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,998,095.12. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other KKR Real Estate Finance Trust news, COO W Patrick Mattson acquired 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 8th. The shares were bought at an average price of $9.72 per share, for a total transaction of $97,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 308,446 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,998,095.12. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Matthew A. Salem acquired 26,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 8th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $9.72 per share, with a total value of $252,720.00. Following the purchase, 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. Insiders own 1.20% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On KKR Real Estate Finance Trust

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of KREF. Swiss National Bank raised its position in shares of KKR Real Estate Finance Trust by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 129,100 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,532,000 after buying an additional 1,300 shares in the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in KKR Real Estate Finance Trust by 3.4% in the third quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 40,871 shares of the company’s stock valued at $485,000 after acquiring an additional 1,340 shares during the last quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund raised 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 valued at $470,000 after purchasing an additional 1,571 shares in the last quarter. Samalin Investment Counsel LLC lifted its stake in KKR Real Estate Finance Trust by 15.6% during the third quarter. Samalin Investment Counsel LLC now owns 14,598 shares of the company’s stock worth $173,000 after purchasing an additional 1,970 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Autumn Glory Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of KKR Real Estate Finance Trust by 30.0% in the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.23% of the company’s stock.

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.