Brokerages Set KKR Real Estate Finance Trust Inc. (NYSE:KREF) Target Price at $12.33

KKR Real Estate Finance Trust Inc. (NYSE:KREF) has been given an average rating of “Moderate Buy” by the five brokerages that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation and four have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month target price among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $12.33.

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on KREF shares. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on KKR Real Estate Finance Trust from $12.00 to $10.50 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 8th. JMP Securities cut their price objective on shares of KKR Real Estate Finance Trust from $14.50 to $13.00 and set a “market outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 7th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of KKR Real Estate Finance Trust from $11.50 to $10.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 10th.

KKR Real Estate Finance Trust Stock Performance

KREF opened at $9.56 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $662.60 million, a P/E ratio of -20.78 and a beta of 0.96. The company has a quick ratio of 361.75, a current ratio of 361.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.32. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $9.80 and its 200-day moving average price is $11.29. KKR Real Estate Finance Trust has a 52-week low of $9.09 and a 52-week high of $14.12.

KKR Real Estate Finance Trust (NYSE:KREF) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The company reported $0.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.37 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $151.62 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $43.16 million. KKR Real Estate Finance Trust had a negative net margin of 1.39% and a positive return on equity of 10.28%. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.48 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that KKR Real Estate Finance Trust will post 1.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

KKR Real Estate Finance Trust Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 28th were issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 10.46%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 27th. KKR Real Estate Finance Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -217.39%.

Insider Activity at KKR Real Estate Finance Trust

In other news, COO W Patrick Mattson bought 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 8th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $9.72 per share, with a total value of $97,200.00. Following the purchase, the chief operating officer now directly owns 308,446 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,998,095.12. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related news, CEO Matthew A. Salem purchased 26,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 8th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $9.72 per share, with a total value of $252,720.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer now owns 460,309 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,474,203.48. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, COO W Patrick Mattson purchased 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 8th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $9.72 per share, with a total value of $97,200.00. Following the acquisition, the chief operating officer now owns 308,446 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,998,095.12. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 1.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On KKR Real Estate Finance Trust

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of KREF. TFO Wealth Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of KKR Real Estate Finance Trust by 21,842.9% during the fourth quarter. TFO Wealth Partners LLC now owns 3,072 shares of the company’s stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 3,058 shares in the last quarter. Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC purchased a new stake in KKR Real Estate Finance Trust during the 1st quarter valued at about $40,000. Autumn Glory Partners LLC purchased a new stake in KKR Real Estate Finance Trust during the 3rd quarter valued at about $119,000. Diversified Trust Co acquired a new stake in KKR Real Estate Finance Trust in the 1st quarter valued at about $101,000. Finally, Commonwealth Equity Services LLC purchased a new position in KKR Real Estate Finance Trust in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $119,000. 70.23% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.