KKR Real Estate Finance Trust Inc. (NYSE:KREF) Short Interest Up 10.5% in July

KKR Real Estate Finance Trust Inc. (NYSE:KREF) saw a significant growth in short interest in July. As of July 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,690,000 shares, a growth of 10.5% from the June 30th total of 1,530,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 502,100 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.4 days.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On KKR Real Estate Finance Trust

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of KKR Real Estate Finance Trust by 48.7% in the 4th quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 105,414 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,395,000 after purchasing an additional 34,538 shares in the last quarter. Autumn Glory Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of 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 valued at $172,000 after purchasing an additional 3,000 shares during the period. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System purchased a new stake in shares of KKR Real Estate Finance Trust in the 4th quarter worth $385,000. Significant Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in KKR Real Estate Finance Trust in the 4th quarter worth $2,838,000. Finally, Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund lifted its position in shares of KKR Real Estate Finance Trust by 4.6% in the fourth 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 in the last quarter. 70.23% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

KKR Real Estate Finance Trust Stock Performance

KREF traded down $0.03 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $11.49. The stock had a trading volume of 719,788 shares, compared to its average volume of 557,513. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.86, a current ratio of 392.62 and a quick ratio of 392.62. The firm has a market cap of $796.60 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -24.96 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $9.65 and a 200-day moving average price of $10.04. KKR Real Estate Finance Trust has a one year low of $8.71 and a one year high of $14.12.

KKR Real Estate Finance Trust (NYSE:KREF) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 22nd. The company reported ($1.57) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.30 by ($1.87). KKR Real Estate Finance Trust had a return on equity of 9.88% and a net margin of 5.88%. The firm had revenue of $47.60 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $45.47 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.48 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 6.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that KKR Real Estate Finance Trust will post 1.35 EPS for the current year.

KKR Real Estate Finance Trust Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 28th were paid a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 28th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 8.70%. KKR Real Estate Finance Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -217.39%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

KREF has been the subject of several recent research reports. BTIG Research reissued a “buy” rating and set a $11.50 price objective on shares of KKR Real Estate Finance Trust in a report on Friday, July 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on KKR Real Estate Finance Trust from $10.00 to $9.50 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 16th. JMP Securities reiterated a “market outperform” rating and set a $12.00 target price on shares of KKR Real Estate Finance Trust in a report on Tuesday, May 21st. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on shares of KKR Real Estate Finance Trust from $9.75 to $11.50 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $11.50.

About KKR Real Estate Finance Trust

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.