KKR Real Estate Finance Trust Inc. (NYSE:KREF) Sees Large Growth in Short Interest

KKR Real Estate Finance Trust Inc. (NYSE:KREF) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest in November. As of November 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,200,000 shares, a growth of 11.1% from the October 31st total of 1,080,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 458,100 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.6 days.

Institutional Trading of KKR Real Estate Finance Trust

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC bought a new position in shares of KKR Real Estate Finance Trust in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Abel Hall LLC acquired a new stake in shares of KKR Real Estate Finance Trust in the third quarter worth $138,000. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. boosted its holdings in shares of KKR Real Estate Finance Trust by 24.6% during the 3rd quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. now owns 12,885 shares of the company’s stock worth $159,000 after buying an additional 2,546 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new position in KKR Real Estate Finance Trust in the 2nd quarter valued at $138,000. Finally, Intech Investment Management LLC bought a new position in KKR Real Estate Finance Trust in the 3rd quarter worth $197,000. 70.23% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

KKR Real Estate Finance Trust Trading Up 0.8 %

Shares of KREF stock traded up $0.09 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $11.72. 398,063 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 523,311. The company has a quick ratio of 277.63, a current ratio of 277.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.75. The firm has a market capitalization of $815.36 million, a PE ratio of -38.83 and a beta of 0.99. KKR Real Estate Finance Trust has a 1-year low of $8.71 and a 1-year high of $14.12. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $11.82 and a 200 day moving average price of $10.95.

KKR Real Estate Finance Trust (NYSE:KREF) last released its earnings results on Monday, October 21st. The company reported $0.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.34 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $140.15 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $39.52 million. KKR Real Estate Finance Trust had a return on equity of 9.46% and a net margin of 0.40%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.47 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that KKR Real Estate Finance Trust will post 1.4 EPS for the current year.

KKR Real Estate Finance Trust Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Investors of record on Monday, September 30th were issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 30th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 8.53%. KKR Real Estate Finance Trust’s dividend payout ratio is -333.32%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently issued reports on KREF. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on KKR Real Estate Finance Trust from $13.00 to $14.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. JMP Securities boosted their price target on shares of KKR Real Estate Finance Trust from $12.50 to $13.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded shares of KKR Real Estate Finance Trust from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $11.50 to $13.00 in a report on Thursday, September 5th. Raymond James dropped their target price on KKR Real Estate Finance Trust from $14.00 to $13.50 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on KKR Real Estate Finance Trust from $11.50 to $12.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $12.83.

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.