KKR Real Estate Financing Trust Inc. (NYSE: KREF – Get a rating) benefited from a sharp rise in short-term interest rates in November. As of November 30, there was short interest totaling 2,440,000 shares, an increase of 6.6% from the total of 2,290,000 shares as of November 15. Based on an average daily volume of 575,400 shares, the day-to-cover ratio is currently 4.2 days.
Analysts set new price targets
A number of equity research analysts have weighed in on KREF shares. JMP Securities cut its price target on KKR Real Estate Finance Trust from $22.00 to $19.00 and set a “market outperformance” rating on the stock in a Tuesday, October 25 report. Raymond James cut his price target on KKR Real Estate Finance Trust from $23.50 to $20.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a Tuesday, October 18 report. TheStreet downgraded KKR Real Estate Finance Trust from a “b-” rating to a “c” rating in a Monday, October 24 report. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods downgraded KKR Real Estate Finance Trust to a “market performance” rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut its price target on KKR Real Estate Finance Trust from $21.00 to $20.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a Monday, October 24 report. One equity research analyst gave the stock a hold rating and four gave the stock a buy rating. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $20.00.
KKR Real Estate Finance Trust trades down 4.8%
NYSE: KREF traded at $0.73 during Friday trading hours, reaching $14.55. 1,912,833 shares of the company were traded, with an average volume of 595,612. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.01 billion, a price-earnings ratio of 23.10 and a beta of 0.75. . The company has a current ratio of 309.42, a quick ratio of 309.42 and a debt ratio of 3.69. KKR Real Estate Finance Trust has a one-year minimum of $14.46 and a one-year maximum of $22.44. The company has a fifty-day simple moving average of $16.61 and a 200-day simple moving average of $17.90.
KKR Real Estate Finance Trust announces dividend
The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 13. Investors of record on Friday, December 30 will receive a dividend of $0.43 per share. This represents an annualized dividend of $1.72 and a yield of 11.82%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, December 29. KKR Real Estate Finance Trust’s dividend payout ratio is currently 273.02%.
Institutional entries and exits
Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of KREF. BlackRock Inc. increased its position in KKR Real Estate Finance Trust by 11.6% during the third quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 9,731,452 shares of the company worth $158,136,000 after purchasing an additional 1,013,755 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of KKR Real Estate Finance Trust by 15.5% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,422,793 shares of the company worth $91,154,000 after acquiring an additional 592,973 shares in the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its position in shares of KKR Real Estate Finance Trust by 43.0% in the 1st quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 1,729,030 shares of the company worth $35,635,000 after acquiring an additional 519,584 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in KKR Real Estate Finance Trust shares by 31.7% in the second quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,608,417 shares of the company worth $28,067,000 after acquiring 387,366 additional shares last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp raised its position in shares of KKR Real Estate Finance Trust by 16.5% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,974,815 shares of the company worth $32,930,000 after acquiring an additional 280,400 shares in the last quarter. 74.91% of the shares are held by institutional investors.
KKR Real Estate Finance Trust Company Profile
KKR Real Estate Finance Trust Inc, a mortgage real estate investment trust, is primarily focused on originating and acquiring senior loans secured by commercial real estate (CRA) assets. It engages in the origination and purchase of CRE-related credit investments, including leveraged and unleveraged commercial mortgages, and commercial mortgage-backed securities.
Read more
This instant news alert was powered by MarketBeat’s narrative science technology and financial data to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reports. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat’s editorial team prior to publication. Please send questions or comments about this story to [email protected].
Before you consider KKR Real Estate Finance Trust, you’ll want to hear this.
MarketBeat tracks daily the highest rated and most successful research analysts on Wall Street and the stocks they recommend to their clients. MarketBeat has identified the five stocks that top analysts are quietly whispering to their clients to buy now before the market spreads… and KKR Real Estate Finance Trust was not on the list.
While KKR Real Estate Finance Trust currently has a “Moderate Buy” rating among analysts, top-rated analysts believe these five stocks are better buys.