KKR Real Estate Finance Trust (NYSE:KREF) Given Average Rating of “Reduce” by Analysts

KKR Real Estate Finance Trust (NYSE:KREF) has earned a consensus rating of “Reduce” from the eight ratings firms that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, five have assigned a hold recommendation and one has given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month target price among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $8.40.

Several analysts have weighed in on KREF shares. Wall Street Zen raised shares of KKR Real Estate Finance Trust from a “strong sell” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, June 20th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price objective on KKR Real Estate Finance Trust from $7.00 to $6.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d)” rating on shares of KKR Real Estate Finance Trust in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on KKR Real Estate Finance Trust from $9.00 to $7.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 28th. Finally, Zacks Research cut KKR Real Estate Finance Trust from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Monday, May 11th.

Insider Activity at KKR Real Estate Finance Trust

In other news, COO W Patrick Mattson bought 40,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 24th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $6.03 per share, with a total value of $241,200.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief operating officer directly owned 500,287 shares in the company, valued at $3,016,730.61. This represents a 8.69% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Matthew A. Salem bought 60,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 24th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $6.04 per share, for a total transaction of $362,400.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer owned 703,075 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,246,573. This trade represents a 9.33% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Insiders own 2.12% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On KKR Real Estate Finance Trust

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Conversant Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of KKR Real Estate Finance Trust during the first quarter valued at about $9,000,000. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its stake in shares of KKR Real Estate Finance Trust by 7.7% in the third quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 1,201,066 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,810,000 after purchasing an additional 85,411 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in KKR Real Estate Finance Trust by 36.2% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,145,916 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,313,000 after purchasing an additional 304,413 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in KKR Real Estate Finance Trust by 10.7% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,002,949 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,244,000 after purchasing an additional 96,947 shares during the period. Finally, Nomura Holdings Inc. bought a new position in KKR Real Estate Finance Trust during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $5,212,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.23% of the company’s stock.

KKR Real Estate Finance Trust Trading Down 1.5%

Shares of KREF opened at $7.01 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $451.06 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -3.77 and a beta of 0.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.90, a quick ratio of 407.64 and a current ratio of 407.64. KKR Real Estate Finance Trust has a fifty-two week low of $5.25 and a fifty-two week high of $9.98. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $6.71 and a 200-day moving average price of $7.12.

KKR Real Estate Finance Trust (NYSE:KREF) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 22nd. The company reported ($0.06) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.11 by ($0.17). KKR Real Estate Finance Trust had a negative net margin of 23.55% and a negative return on equity of 0.78%. The business had revenue of $20.89 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $28.76 million. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that KKR Real Estate Finance Trust will post -1.63 earnings per share for the current year.

KKR Real Estate Finance Trust Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th will be paid a $0.10 dividend. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 30th. KKR Real Estate Finance Trust’s payout ratio is -21.51%.

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.