KKR Real Estate Finance Trust (NYSE:KREF) Receives $8.40 Average Target Price from Analysts

Shares of KKR Real Estate Finance Trust (NYSE:KREF) have earned a consensus recommendation of “Reduce” from the eight brokerages that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Two 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 price objective among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $8.40.

Several research firms have recently issued reports on KREF. Citizens Jmp cut shares of KKR Real Estate Finance Trust from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, April 27th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of KKR Real Estate Finance Trust from a “sell” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Saturday, May 2nd. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d)” rating on shares of KKR Real Estate Finance Trust in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Citigroup cut shares of KKR Real Estate Finance Trust from a “neutral” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, April 27th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of KKR Real Estate Finance Trust from $9.00 to $7.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 28th.

KKR Real Estate Finance Trust Price Performance

NYSE KREF opened at $7.26 on Monday. KKR Real Estate Finance Trust has a 52 week low of $5.25 and a 52 week high of $9.98. The company has a current ratio of 407.64, a quick ratio of 407.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.90. The stock has a market cap of $466.50 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -3.90 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $6.53 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $7.27.

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

KKR Real Estate Finance Trust Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 30th will be issued a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.5%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 30th. KKR Real Estate Finance Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -53.76%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other KKR Real Estate Finance Trust news, COO W Patrick Mattson bought 40,000 shares of KKR Real Estate Finance Trust stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 24th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $6.03 per share, for a total transaction of $241,200.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief operating officer owned 500,287 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,016,730.61. This represents a 8.69% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Matthew A. Salem bought 60,000 shares of KKR Real Estate Finance Trust stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 24th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $6.04 per share, with a total value of $362,400.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer directly owned 703,075 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,246,573. This represents a 9.33% increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Company insiders own 2.12% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of KKR Real Estate Finance Trust

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in KREF. Millennium Management LLC lifted its position in shares of KKR Real Estate Finance Trust by 25.9% in the 1st quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 353,216 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,815,000 after acquiring an additional 72,566 shares in the last quarter. Caxton Associates LLP purchased a new stake in shares of KKR Real Estate Finance Trust in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $288,000. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC lifted its position in shares of KKR Real Estate Finance Trust by 317.2% in the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 204,589 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,210,000 after acquiring an additional 155,553 shares in the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC lifted its position in shares of KKR Real Estate Finance Trust by 72.1% in the 1st quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 172,162 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,859,000 after acquiring an additional 72,140 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Acadian Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of KKR Real Estate Finance Trust in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $66,000. 70.23% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.