KKR Real Estate Finance Trust Inc. (NYSE:KREF) Given Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Shares of KKR Real Estate Finance Trust Inc. (NYSE:KREF) have received a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the five ratings firms that are covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation and four have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1-year target price among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $12.33.

A number of brokerages have issued reports on KREF. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on 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. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of KKR Real Estate Finance Trust from $12.00 to $10.50 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 8th. Finally, JMP Securities cut their target price 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 report on Wednesday, February 7th.

KKR Real Estate Finance Trust Stock Performance

NYSE KREF opened at $9.85 on Tuesday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $9.77 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $11.31. The stock has a market cap of $682.70 million, a PE ratio of -12.63 and a beta of 0.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.32, a quick ratio of 361.75 and a current ratio of 361.76. KKR Real Estate Finance Trust has a fifty-two week low of $9.09 and a fifty-two week high of $14.12.

KKR Real Estate Finance Trust Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 28th were given a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 10.15%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 27th. KKR Real Estate Finance Trust’s dividend payout ratio is presently -128.21%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, COO W Patrick Mattson acquired 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 8th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $9.72 per share, for a total transaction of $97,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 308,446 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,998,095.12. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other KKR Real Estate Finance Trust news, COO W Patrick Mattson bought 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 8th. The shares were bought at an average price of $9.72 per share, for a total transaction of $97,200.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 308,446 shares in the company, valued at $2,998,095.12. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Matthew A. Salem bought 26,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 8th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $9.72 per share, with a total value of $252,720.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 460,309 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,474,203.48. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On KKR Real Estate Finance Trust

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Swiss National Bank raised its holdings in KKR Real Estate Finance Trust by 1.0% during the third quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 129,100 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,532,000 after buying an additional 1,300 shares during the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of KKR Real Estate Finance Trust by 3.4% in the 3rd quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 40,871 shares of the company’s stock worth $485,000 after acquiring an additional 1,340 shares during the last quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund lifted its position in KKR Real Estate Finance Trust by 4.6% in the 4th quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 35,542 shares of the company’s stock valued at $470,000 after acquiring an additional 1,571 shares in the last quarter. Samalin Investment Counsel LLC boosted its stake in KKR Real Estate Finance Trust by 15.6% during the 3rd quarter. Samalin Investment Counsel LLC now owns 14,598 shares of the company’s stock valued at $173,000 after purchasing an additional 1,970 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Autumn Glory Partners LLC increased its holdings in KKR Real Estate Finance Trust by 30.0% during the 4th quarter. Autumn Glory Partners LLC now owns 13,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $172,000 after purchasing an additional 3,000 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.23% of the company’s stock.

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.