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

KKR Real Estate Finance Trust Inc. (NYSE:KREF) has received an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the six research firms that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and four have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12-month target price among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $11.96.

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on KREF shares. JMP Securities lowered their price objective on KKR Real Estate Finance Trust from $14.50 to $13.00 and set a “market outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their target price on KKR Real Estate Finance Trust from $10.00 to $9.75 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on KKR Real Estate Finance Trust from $11.50 to $10.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective 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 Price Performance

Shares of NYSE KREF opened at $9.62 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $666.76 million, a P/E ratio of -20.91 and a beta of 0.96. The company has a current ratio of 364.56, a quick ratio of 361.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.20. KKR Real Estate Finance Trust has a 1-year low of $9.09 and a 1-year high of $14.12. The business’s 50 day moving average is $9.80 and its 200-day moving average is $11.27.

KKR Real Estate Finance Trust (NYSE:KREF) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 23rd. The company reported $0.39 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.37 by $0.02. KKR Real Estate Finance Trust had a positive return on equity of 10.38% and a negative net margin of 1.39%. The firm had revenue of $151.62 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $43.16 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.48 EPS. Equities research analysts predict 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 28th were issued a $0.25 dividend. 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 10.40%. KKR Real Estate Finance Trust’s dividend payout ratio is currently -217.39%.

Insider Transactions at KKR Real Estate Finance Trust

In other news, COO W Patrick Mattson purchased 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 8th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $9.72 per share, for a total transaction of $97,200.00. Following the acquisition, the chief operating officer now owns 308,446 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,998,095.12. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other KKR Real Estate Finance Trust news, COO W Patrick Mattson purchased 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 8th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $9.72 per share, with a total value of $97,200.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 308,446 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,998,095.12. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Matthew A. Salem purchased 26,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 8th. The shares were bought at an average price of $9.72 per share, for a total transaction of $252,720.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 460,309 shares in the company, 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 institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of KREF. Swiss National Bank increased its stake in 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 worth $1,532,000 after buying an additional 1,300 shares during the period. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in KKR Real Estate Finance Trust by 3.4% during the 3rd quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 40,871 shares of the company’s stock worth $485,000 after purchasing an additional 1,340 shares during the period. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund raised its position in KKR Real Estate Finance Trust by 4.6% during the 4th quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 35,542 shares of the company’s stock worth $470,000 after buying an additional 1,571 shares during the last quarter. Samalin Investment Counsel LLC raised its position in KKR Real Estate Finance Trust by 15.6% during the 3rd quarter. Samalin Investment Counsel LLC now owns 14,598 shares of the company’s stock worth $173,000 after buying an additional 1,970 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Autumn Glory Partners LLC raised its position in KKR Real Estate Finance Trust by 30.0% during the 4th quarter. Autumn Glory Partners LLC now owns 13,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $172,000 after buying an additional 3,000 shares during the last quarter. 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, 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.