KKR Real Estate Finance Trust (NYSE:KREF) Price Target Cut to $7.00 by Analysts at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods

KKR Real Estate Finance Trust (NYSE:KREF) had its price objective trimmed by Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $8.00 to $7.00 in a research note published on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a market perform rating on the stock.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. BTIG Research cut shares of KKR Real Estate Finance Trust from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Citizens Jmp decreased their price target on shares of KKR Real Estate Finance Trust from $10.00 to $9.50 and set a “market outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of KKR Real Estate Finance Trust from $10.00 to $9.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Zacks Research cut shares of KKR Real Estate Finance Trust from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d)” rating on shares of KKR Real Estate Finance Trust in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $9.30.

KKR Real Estate Finance Trust Price Performance

KREF stock opened at $6.28 on Wednesday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $6.89 and a 200 day simple moving average of $7.91. The stock has a market cap of $403.36 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -5.98 and a beta of 0.91. KKR Real Estate Finance Trust has a 1 year low of $5.87 and a 1 year high of $9.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.83, a current ratio of 407.64 and a quick ratio of 407.64.

KKR Real Estate Finance Trust (NYSE:KREF) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 3rd. The company reported $0.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.14 by $0.08. KKR Real Estate Finance Trust had a negative net margin of 10.80% and a negative return on equity of 1.13%. The firm had revenue of $32.72 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $26.06 million. Research analysts anticipate that KKR Real Estate Finance Trust will post 1.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

KKR Real Estate Finance Trust Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 15.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 31st. KKR Real Estate Finance Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -95.24%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On KKR Real Estate Finance Trust

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of KREF. Hantz Financial Services Inc. raised its stake in KKR Real Estate Finance Trust by 210.5% during the fourth quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 3,099 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 2,101 shares during the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its stake in KKR Real Estate Finance Trust by 178.3% during the fourth quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 3,537 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 2,266 shares during the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. raised its stake in KKR Real Estate Finance Trust by 100.0% during the second quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 3,450 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 1,725 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in KKR Real Estate Finance Trust by 742.0% during the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,151 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 3,658 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cloud Capital Management LLC bought a new position in KKR Real Estate Finance Trust during the third quarter worth $48,000. Institutional investors own 70.23% of the company’s stock.

About KKR Real Estate Finance Trust

KKR Real Estate Finance Trust, Inc (NYSE: KREF) is a mortgage real estate investment trust sponsored by KKR & Co Inc The company focuses on originating, acquiring, financing and managing a diversified portfolio of commercial real estate debt and real estate-related assets across the United States and select European markets.

The trust’s investment strategy is centered on lending to high-quality office, industrial, retail, multifamily and hotel properties. Its portfolio primarily consists of senior mortgage loans, mezzanine loans, floating-rate debt securities and preferred equity positions.