Brokerages Set KKR Real Estate Finance Trust Inc. (NYSE:KREF) Price Target at $12.14

Shares of KKR Real Estate Finance Trust Inc. (NYSE:KREF) have been assigned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the seven analysts that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation and six have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $12.50.

KREF has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of KKR Real Estate Finance Trust from $11.50 to $12.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday. Wells Fargo & Company boosted 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. BTIG Research reissued a “buy” rating and set a $11.50 price target on shares of KKR Real Estate Finance Trust in a research note on Friday, July 19th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised KKR Real Estate Finance Trust from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $11.50 to $13.00 in a research report on Thursday, September 5th. Finally, Raymond James increased their target price on KKR Real Estate Finance Trust from $13.00 to $14.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 19th.

KKR Real Estate Finance Trust Stock Performance

NYSE KREF opened at $12.04 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 392.62, a current ratio of 392.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.86. KKR Real Estate Finance Trust has a fifty-two week low of $8.71 and a fifty-two week high of $14.12. The business has a fifty day moving average of $11.89 and a 200-day moving average of $10.51. The stock has a market cap of $834.54 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -26.17 and a beta of 0.99.

KKR Real Estate Finance Trust (NYSE:KREF) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 22nd. The company reported ($1.57) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.30 by ($1.87). The company had revenue of $47.60 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $45.47 million. KKR Real Estate Finance Trust had a return on equity of 9.88% and a net margin of 5.88%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 6.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.48 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that KKR Real Estate Finance Trust will post 1.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

KKR Real Estate Finance Trust Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 30th were issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 30th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 8.31%. KKR Real Estate Finance Trust’s payout ratio is -217.39%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On KKR Real Estate Finance Trust

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of KKR Real Estate Finance Trust by 9.1% in the 1st quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 2,148,784 shares of the company’s stock valued at $21,617,000 after purchasing an additional 178,603 shares in the last quarter. Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC acquired a new position in KKR Real Estate Finance Trust during the first quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its stake in KKR Real Estate Finance Trust by 17.3% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 16,846 shares of the company’s stock worth $170,000 after buying an additional 2,481 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its position in shares of KKR Real Estate Finance Trust by 15.4% in the first quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 272,002 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,736,000 after acquiring an additional 36,299 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of KKR Real Estate Finance Trust by 14.1% in the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 346,350 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,484,000 after acquiring an additional 42,730 shares during the period. 70.23% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.