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

KKR Real Estate Finance Trust (NYSE:KREF) has been given a consensus rating of “Reduce” by the eight research firms that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, five have issued a hold recommendation and one has assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $8.40.

KREF has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on KKR Real Estate Finance Trust from $8.00 to $6.50 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 16th. Citizens Jmp lowered KKR Real Estate Finance Trust from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price target on KKR Real Estate Finance Trust from $7.00 to $6.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Zacks Research lowered KKR Real Estate Finance Trust from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered KKR Real Estate Finance Trust from a “sell” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 2nd.

KKR Real Estate Finance Trust Price Performance

Shares of KKR Real Estate Finance Trust stock opened at $7.26 on Monday. KKR Real Estate Finance Trust has a one year low of $5.25 and a one year high of $9.98. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $6.53 and its 200 day moving average is $7.28. The stock has a market cap of $466.50 million, a P/E ratio of -3.90 and a beta of 0.84. 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 (NYSE:KREF) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The company reported ($0.06) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.11 by ($0.17). KKR Real Estate Finance Trust had a negative return on equity of 0.78% and a negative net margin of 23.55%.The company had revenue of $20.89 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $28.76 million. Sell-side analysts anticipate 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 firm 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 5.5%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 30th. KKR Real Estate Finance Trust’s dividend payout ratio is presently -53.76%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On KKR Real Estate Finance Trust

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Conversant Capital LLC purchased a new stake in KKR Real Estate Finance Trust in the 1st quarter worth $9,000,000. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its position in shares of KKR Real Estate Finance Trust by 7.7% during the third quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 1,201,066 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,810,000 after purchasing an additional 85,411 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its position in shares of KKR Real Estate Finance Trust by 36.2% during the third 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 in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of KKR Real Estate Finance Trust by 10.7% during the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Nomura Holdings Inc. purchased a new position in shares of KKR Real Estate Finance Trust during the third quarter valued at about $5,212,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.23% of the company’s stock.

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.