Brokerages Set KKR Real Estate Finance Trust (NYSE:KREF) Target Price at $8.40

KKR Real Estate Finance Trust (NYSE:KREF) has been assigned an average rating of “Reduce” from the eight research firms that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price target among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $8.40.

A number of research analysts have recently commented on KREF shares. Wall Street Zen raised shares of KKR Real Estate Finance Trust from a “strong sell” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, June 20th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their target price on shares of KKR Real Estate Finance Trust from $7.00 to $6.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 24th. Citizens Jmp downgraded shares of KKR Real Estate Finance Trust from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on KKR Real Estate Finance Trust from $8.00 to $6.50 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 16th. Finally, Citigroup downgraded KKR Real Estate Finance Trust from a “neutral” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, April 27th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other KKR Real Estate Finance Trust news, COO W Patrick Mattson purchased 40,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 24th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $6.03 per share, for a total transaction of $241,200.00. Following the purchase, the chief operating officer owned 500,287 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,016,730.61. The trade was a 8.69% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Matthew A. Salem purchased 60,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, April 24th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $6.04 per share, with a total value of $362,400.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer directly owned 703,075 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,246,573. The trade was a 9.33% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. 2.12% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of KKR Real Estate Finance Trust

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of KREF. Hantz Financial Services Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of KKR Real Estate Finance Trust by 210.5% during the 4th quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 3,099 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 2,101 shares during the period. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. raised its holdings in KKR Real Estate Finance Trust by 100.0% in the 2nd quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 3,450 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 1,725 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its position in KKR Real Estate Finance Trust by 178.3% during the fourth quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 3,537 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 2,266 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in KKR Real Estate Finance Trust by 742.0% during the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,151 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 3,658 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC boosted its holdings in shares of KKR Real Estate Finance Trust by 64.1% during the second quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 5,732 shares of the company’s stock worth $50,000 after acquiring an additional 2,238 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.23% of the company’s stock.

KKR Real Estate Finance Trust Price Performance

NYSE:KREF opened at $7.23 on Friday. KKR Real Estate Finance Trust has a 1-year low of $5.25 and a 1-year high of $9.98. The company has a current ratio of 407.64, a quick ratio of 407.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.90. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $6.80 and a 200 day simple moving average of $7.07. The stock has a market capitalization of $464.70 million, a PE ratio of -3.89 and a beta of 0.82.

KKR Real Estate Finance Trust (NYSE:KREF) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The company reported ($0.06) earnings per share 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 firm had revenue of $20.89 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $28.76 million. On average, research analysts expect that KKR Real Estate Finance Trust will post -1.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

KKR Real Estate Finance Trust Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.5%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 30th. KKR Real Estate Finance Trust’s payout ratio is currently -21.51%.

About KKR Real Estate Finance Trust

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.