KKR Real Estate Finance Trust Inc. (NYSE:KREF) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of KKR Real Estate Finance Trust Inc. (NYSE:KREF) have earned an average rating of “Buy” from the six brokerages that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating. The average 12 month price objective among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $12.75.

Several analysts recently weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company increased 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of KKR Real Estate Finance Trust from $12.00 to $11.50 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, December 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded shares of KKR Real Estate Finance Trust from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price target for the company from $11.50 to $13.00 in a report on Thursday, September 5th. JMP Securities raised their price objective 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, October 30th. Finally, Raymond James cut 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 research note on Wednesday, October 23rd.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted 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 worth $349,000 after buying an additional 935 shares during the period. Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC bought a new stake in shares of KKR Real Estate Finance Trust in the third quarter valued at about $25,000. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. lifted its stake in KKR Real Estate Finance Trust by 24.6% in the third quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. now owns 12,885 shares of the company’s stock worth $159,000 after acquiring an additional 2,546 shares during the period. Creative Planning grew its holdings in KKR Real Estate Finance Trust by 37.0% during the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 21,524 shares of the company’s stock worth $266,000 after acquiring an additional 5,809 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Algert Global LLC increased its position in 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 purchasing an additional 5,933 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 70.23% of the company’s stock.

KKR Real Estate Finance Trust Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:KREF opened at $10.28 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $11.40 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $11.13. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $715.21 million, a P/E ratio of -34.27 and a beta of 0.98. KKR Real Estate Finance Trust has a 52 week low of $8.71 and a 52 week high of $13.65.

KKR Real Estate Finance Trust (NYSE:KREF) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, October 21st. The company reported $0.37 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 company had revenue of $140.15 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $39.52 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.47 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that KKR Real Estate Finance Trust will post 1.4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

KKR Real Estate Finance Trust Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 9.73%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 31st. KKR Real Estate Finance Trust’s dividend payout ratio is presently -333.33%.

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.