KKR Real Estate Finance Trust Inc. (NYSE:KREF) Short Interest Update

KKR Real Estate Finance Trust Inc. (NYSE:KREF) was the recipient of a significant decline in short interest in the month of January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 1,150,000 shares, a decline of 11.5% from the January 15th total of 1,300,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 480,800 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.4 days.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently commented on KREF. JMP Securities upped their price objective on shares of KKR Real Estate Finance Trust from $12.50 to $13.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Raymond James cut their price target on KKR Real Estate Finance Trust from $14.00 to $13.50 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price objective on KKR Real Estate Finance Trust from $13.00 to $12.25 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on KKR Real Estate Finance Trust from $11.50 to $10.50 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $12.46.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in KREF. Azora Capital LP acquired a new stake in shares of KKR Real Estate Finance Trust in the 3rd quarter worth $20,167,000. Wellington Management Group LLP purchased a new stake in shares of KKR Real Estate Finance Trust in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $5,350,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its stake in shares of KKR Real Estate Finance Trust by 2,400.3% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 477,633 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,825,000 after buying an additional 458,530 shares during the period. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. increased its holdings in shares of KKR Real Estate Finance Trust by 116.5% during the 4th quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 844,610 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,531,000 after buying an additional 454,517 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GFS Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of KKR Real Estate Finance Trust by 9,591.3% during the 3rd quarter. GFS Advisors LLC now owns 290,740 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,591,000 after buying an additional 287,740 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.23% of the company’s stock.

KKR Real Estate Finance Trust Price Performance

NYSE KREF traded up $0.10 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $11.30. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 278,792 shares, compared to its average volume of 481,158. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.50, a current ratio of 296.16 and a quick ratio of 277.63. KKR Real Estate Finance Trust has a 1-year low of $8.71 and a 1-year high of $12.95. The company’s 50-day moving average is $10.57 and its two-hundred day moving average is $11.31. The firm has a market capitalization of $776.08 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 62.75 and a beta of 1.00.

KKR Real Estate Finance Trust (NYSE:KREF) last announced its earnings results on Monday, February 3rd. The company reported $0.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.08 by $0.20. KKR Real Estate Finance Trust had a net margin of 6.30% and a return on equity of 8.53%. On average, equities analysts predict that KKR Real Estate Finance Trust will post 1.05 EPS for the current year.

KKR Real Estate Finance Trust Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st were given a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 8.85%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 31st. KKR Real Estate Finance Trust’s payout ratio is 555.56%.

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.