KKR Real Estate Finance Trust Inc. (NYSE:KREF) Short Interest Update

KKR Real Estate Finance Trust Inc. (NYSE:KREF) was the target of a significant drop in short interest in the month of October. As of October 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,060,000 shares, a drop of 7.8% from the September 30th total of 1,150,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 479,100 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.2 days.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On KKR Real Estate Finance Trust

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of KREF. Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC purchased a new stake in KKR Real Estate Finance Trust in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. EntryPoint Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of KKR Real Estate Finance Trust in the first quarter worth $54,000. Diversified Trust Co bought a new stake in KKR Real Estate Finance Trust during the first quarter valued at $101,000. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. grew its position in KKR Real Estate Finance Trust by 24.6% during the third 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 in the last quarter. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new position in KKR Real Estate Finance Trust in the 2nd quarter worth about $138,000. 70.23% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

KKR Real Estate Finance Trust Stock Performance

Shares of KREF stock traded down $0.04 during trading on Thursday, reaching $11.59. 612,510 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 529,717. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $11.99 and its 200 day moving average is $10.63. The company has a market capitalization of $803.35 million, a P/E ratio of -25.33 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 company has a current ratio of 277.63, a quick ratio of 392.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.75.

KKR Real Estate Finance Trust (NYSE:KREF) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, October 21st. The company reported $0.37 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.34 by $0.03. KKR Real Estate Finance Trust had a return on equity of 9.46% and a net margin of 0.40%. The firm had revenue of $140.15 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $39.52 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.47 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that KKR Real Estate Finance Trust will post 1.35 EPS for the current year.

KKR Real Estate Finance Trust Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 30th were given a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 8.63%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 30th. KKR Real Estate Finance Trust’s dividend payout ratio is presently -217.39%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

KREF has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. BTIG Research restated a “buy” rating and issued a $11.50 price objective on shares of KKR Real Estate Finance Trust in a research note on Friday, July 19th. Raymond James decreased their price objective on shares of 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. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of KKR Real Estate Finance Trust from $13.00 to $14.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. JMP Securities raised 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 note on Wednesday. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded KKR Real Estate Finance Trust from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $11.50 to $13.00 in a research note on Thursday, September 5th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus 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.