Short Interest in KKR Real Estate Finance Trust Inc. (NYSE:KREF) Expands By 18.3%

KKR Real Estate Finance Trust Inc. (NYSE:KREF) was the target of a significant growth in short interest in the month of December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,420,000 shares, a growth of 18.3% from the November 30th total of 1,200,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 453,700 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.1 days.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have commented on KREF shares. JMP Securities boosted their price objective on KKR Real Estate Finance Trust from $12.50 to $13.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Raymond James decreased their price target on KKR Real Estate Finance Trust from $14.00 to $13.50 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised shares of KKR Real Estate Finance Trust from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their target price for the company from $11.50 to $13.00 in a research report on Thursday, September 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of KKR Real Estate Finance Trust from $12.00 to $11.50 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective 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. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $12.75.

KKR Real Estate Finance Trust Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE KREF traded down $0.04 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $10.10. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 710,883 shares, compared to its average volume of 524,695. The firm has a market capitalization of $702.69 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -33.67 and a beta of 0.98. The company has a current ratio of 277.63, a quick ratio of 277.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.75. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $11.34 and a 200 day moving average price of $11.17. KKR Real Estate Finance Trust has a one year low of $8.71 and a one year high of $13.33.

KKR Real Estate Finance Trust (NYSE:KREF) last issued 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. KKR Real Estate Finance Trust had a net margin of 0.40% and a return on equity of 9.46%. The business had revenue of $140.15 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $39.52 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.47 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that KKR Real Estate Finance Trust will post 1.4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

KKR Real Estate Finance Trust Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 9.90%. KKR Real Estate Finance Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -333.33%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in KREF. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its holdings in shares of KKR Real Estate Finance Trust by 31.2% in the second quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 356,891 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,230,000 after purchasing an additional 84,889 shares during the period. Wedbush Securities Inc. purchased a new position in KKR Real Estate Finance Trust during the second quarter worth about $427,000. Public Sector Pension Investment Board increased its stake in KKR Real Estate Finance Trust by 6.1% in the 2nd quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 128,155 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,160,000 after acquiring an additional 7,333 shares during the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its holdings in shares of KKR Real Estate Finance Trust by 2.5% in the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 38,542 shares of the company’s stock valued at $349,000 after acquiring an additional 935 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Algert Global LLC boosted its position in shares of KKR Real Estate Finance Trust by 7.2% during the 2nd quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 88,193 shares of the company’s stock valued at $798,000 after acquiring an additional 5,933 shares during the last quarter. 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, 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.