KKR Real Estate Finance Trust Inc. (NYSE:KREF) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Buy” from Analysts

KKR Real Estate Finance Trust Inc. (NYSE:KREF) has been assigned an average recommendation of “Buy” from the six research firms that are covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Six analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating. The average 12 month target price among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $12.46.

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on KREF shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on KKR Real Estate Finance Trust from $11.50 to $10.50 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. JMP Securities lifted 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. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price objective on shares of KKR Real Estate Finance Trust from $13.00 to $12.25 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th.

KKR Real Estate Finance Trust Stock Down 2.5 %

Shares of KREF stock opened at $11.00 on Monday. KKR Real Estate Finance Trust has a 12-month low of $8.71 and a 12-month high of $12.95. The company has a quick ratio of 296.16, a current ratio of 296.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.50. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $10.54 and a 200-day moving average of $11.32. The company has a market capitalization of $755.47 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 61.08 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 for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that KKR Real Estate Finance Trust will post 1.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

KKR Real Estate Finance Trust Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st were issued a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 9.10%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 31st. KKR Real Estate Finance Trust’s payout ratio is presently 555.56%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On KKR Real Estate Finance Trust

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS acquired a new stake in KKR Real Estate Finance Trust in the fourth quarter valued at $96,000. Caxton Associates LP bought a new stake in shares of KKR Real Estate Finance Trust in the 4th quarter valued at about $110,000. Sherbrooke Park Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in KKR Real Estate Finance Trust in the 4th quarter valued at about $119,000. First Trust Advisors LP acquired a new stake in KKR Real Estate Finance Trust in the 4th quarter valued at about $129,000. Finally, Abel Hall LLC bought a new position in KKR Real Estate Finance Trust during the third quarter worth about $138,000. 70.23% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.