KKR Real Estate Finance Trust Inc. (NYSE:KREF) Short Interest Up 18.3% in December

KKR Real Estate Finance Trust Inc. (NYSE:KREF) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest during the month of December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,420,000 shares, a growth of 18.3% from the November 30th total of 1,200,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 453,700 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.1 days.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On KKR Real Estate Finance Trust

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of KREF. Azora Capital LP purchased a new position in KKR Real Estate Finance Trust during the 3rd quarter valued at about $20,167,000. GFS Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of KKR Real Estate Finance Trust by 9,591.3% in the 3rd quarter. GFS Advisors LLC now owns 290,740 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,591,000 after buying an additional 287,740 shares during the last quarter. Zacks Investment Management purchased a new position in shares of KKR Real Estate Finance Trust during the third quarter valued at approximately $2,792,000. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its holdings in shares of KKR Real Estate Finance Trust by 27.6% during the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 455,291 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,372,000 after acquiring an additional 98,400 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quest Partners LLC purchased a new stake in KKR Real Estate Finance Trust in the third quarter worth $1,201,000. 70.23% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on KREF shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on KKR Real Estate Finance Trust from $12.00 to $11.50 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, December 9th. JMP Securities raised their price objective on KKR Real Estate Finance Trust from $12.50 to $13.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Raymond James cut their target price on KKR Real Estate Finance Trust from $14.00 to $13.50 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of KKR Real Estate Finance Trust from $13.00 to $14.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded shares of KKR Real Estate Finance Trust from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $11.50 to $13.00 in a report on Thursday, September 5th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, KKR Real Estate Finance Trust presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $12.75.

KKR Real Estate Finance Trust Trading Down 0.4 %

KREF stock traded down $0.04 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $10.10. 710,883 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 524,695. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.75, a quick ratio of 277.63 and a current ratio of 277.63. The company has a 50-day moving average of $11.34 and a 200-day moving average of $11.17. The firm has a market capitalization of $702.69 million, a PE ratio of -33.67 and a beta of 0.98. KKR Real Estate Finance Trust has a 1 year low of $8.71 and a 1 year high of $13.33.

KKR Real Estate Finance Trust (NYSE:KREF) last issued its earnings results on Monday, October 21st. The company reported $0.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.34 by $0.03. KKR Real Estate Finance Trust had a net margin of 0.40% and a return on equity of 9.46%. The firm had revenue of $140.15 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $39.52 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.47 earnings per share. Analysts predict that KKR Real Estate Finance Trust will post 1.4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

KKR Real Estate Finance Trust Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be given a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 9.90%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 31st. KKR Real Estate Finance Trust’s payout ratio is -333.33%.

KKR Real Estate Finance Trust Company Profile

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.