KKR Real Estate Finance Trust (NYSE:KREF) Shares Gap Down – Should You Sell?

KKR Real Estate Finance Trust (NYSE:KREF)’s stock price gapped down before the market opened on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $8.18, but opened at $7.78. KKR Real Estate Finance Trust shares last traded at $7.9250, with a volume of 513,307 shares traded.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have issued reports on KREF shares. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on KKR Real Estate Finance Trust from $11.00 to $10.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 24th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d)” rating on shares of KKR Real Estate Finance Trust in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. BTIG Research restated a “buy” rating and issued a $13.00 target price on shares of KKR Real Estate Finance Trust in a research note on Monday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price target on shares of KKR Real Estate Finance Trust from $8.75 to $8.25 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $9.00 price objective (down from $9.50) on shares of KKR Real Estate Finance Trust in a report on Monday, October 20th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $10.45.

KKR Real Estate Finance Trust Trading Down 3.6%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.63, a quick ratio of 423.43 and a current ratio of 423.43. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $8.35 and a 200 day moving average price of $8.74. The company has a market cap of $516.39 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -22.53 and a beta of 0.88.

KKR Real Estate Finance Trust (NYSE:KREF) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 3rd. The company reported $0.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.14 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $32.72 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $26.06 million. KKR Real Estate Finance Trust had a negative net margin of 0.12% and a negative return on equity of 0.60%. As a group, equities analysts predict that KKR Real Estate Finance Trust will post 1.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

KKR Real Estate Finance Trust Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 31st were paid a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 12.7%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, December 31st. KKR Real Estate Finance Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -285.71%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other KKR Real Estate Finance Trust news, Director Ralph F. Rosenberg sold 125,289 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $8.25, for a total transaction of $1,033,634.25. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Matthew A. Salem purchased 32,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 6th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $7.84 per share, with a total value of $250,880.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer directly owned 561,825 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,404,708. The trade was a 6.04% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Over the last ninety days, insiders have acquired 55,000 shares of company stock worth $431,710. Company insiders own 1.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On KKR Real Estate Finance Trust

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. grew its position in shares of 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 valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 1,725 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in KKR Real Estate Finance Trust by 742.0% in the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,151 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 3,658 shares during the period. Allworth Financial LP grew its holdings in KKR Real Estate Finance Trust by 3,904.6% in the 2nd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 4,365 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 4,256 shares in the last quarter. Cloud Capital Management LLC bought a new position in KKR Real Estate Finance Trust during the 3rd quarter worth $48,000. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC increased its position in KKR Real Estate Finance Trust by 64.1% during the 2nd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 5,732 shares of the company’s stock worth $50,000 after buying an additional 2,238 shares during the period. 70.23% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

KKR Real Estate Finance Trust Company Profile

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.