KKR Real Estate Finance Trust Inc. (NYSE:KREF) Sees Significant Decrease in Short Interest

by · The Cerbat Gem

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

KKR Real Estate Finance Trust Stock Down 0.3 %

KREF traded down $0.04 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $11.59. The company had a trading volume of 612,510 shares, compared to its average volume of 529,717. The company has a market capitalization of $803.35 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -25.33 and a beta of 0.99. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $11.99 and its 200 day moving average price is $10.63. The company has a quick ratio of 392.62, a current ratio of 277.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.75. KKR Real Estate Finance Trust has a 52 week low of $8.71 and a 52 week high of $14.12.

KKR Real Estate Finance Trust (NYSE:KREF – Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, October 21st. The company reported $0.37 earnings per share 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 business had revenue of $140.15 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $39.52 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.47 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Investors of record on Monday, September 30th were issued a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 8.63%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 30th. KKR Real Estate Finance Trust’s dividend payout ratio is currently -217.39%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on KREF shares. JMP Securities boosted 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 report on Wednesday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded shares of KKR Real Estate Finance Trust from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $11.50 to $13.00 in a report on Thursday, September 5th. Raymond James decreased their price target on 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 price objective on 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. Finally, BTIG Research restated a “buy” rating and set a $11.50 target price on shares of KKR Real Estate Finance Trust in a research report on Friday, July 19th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $12.83.

View Our Latest Research Report on KKR Real Estate Finance Trust

Institutional Trading of KKR Real Estate Finance Trust

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC acquired a new stake in shares of KKR Real Estate Finance Trust in the 3rd quarter worth about $25,000. EntryPoint Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of KKR Real Estate Finance Trust in the first quarter valued at approximately $54,000. Diversified Trust Co purchased a new position in shares of KKR Real Estate Finance Trust during the first quarter valued at approximately $101,000. SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new stake in KKR Real Estate Finance Trust during the second quarter worth $138,000. Finally, First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. raised its position in KKR Real Estate Finance Trust by 24.6% in the 3rd quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. now owns 12,885 shares of the company’s stock valued at $159,000 after buying an additional 2,546 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.23% of the company’s stock.

About KKR Real Estate Finance Trust

(Get Free Report)

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.

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