KKR Real Estate Finance Trust Inc. (NYSE:KREF) Short Interest Update

KKR Real Estate Finance Trust Inc. (NYSE:KREF) was the target of a large increase in short interest in March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 1,230,000 shares, an increase of 15.0% from the March 15th total of 1,070,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 615,200 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.0 days.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently commented on KREF. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased 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 research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on 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 price objective on KKR Real Estate Finance Trust from $14.50 to $13.00 and set a “market outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $12.33.

KKR Real Estate Finance Trust Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:KREF traded down $0.09 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $9.51. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 496,333 shares, compared to its average volume of 600,635. The stock has a market capitalization of $659.14 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -12.19 and a beta of 0.96. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $9.78 and its 200 day simple moving average is $11.35. KKR Real Estate Finance Trust has a fifty-two week low of $9.09 and a fifty-two week high of $14.12. 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 Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 28th were given a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 10.52%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 27th. KKR Real Estate Finance Trust’s dividend payout ratio is currently -128.21%.

Insider Transactions at KKR Real Estate Finance Trust

In related news, CEO Matthew A. Salem acquired 26,000 shares of KKR Real Estate Finance Trust stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 8th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $9.72 per share, with a total value of $252,720.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 460,309 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,474,203.48. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other KKR Real Estate Finance Trust news, COO W Patrick Mattson bought 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 8th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $9.72 per share, with a total value 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 purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Matthew A. Salem bought 26,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 8th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $9.72 per share, with a total value of $252,720.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 460,309 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,474,203.48. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On KKR Real Estate Finance Trust

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky boosted its holdings in KKR Real Estate Finance Trust by 5.7% during the second quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky now owns 18,846 shares of the company’s stock valued at $229,000 after purchasing an additional 1,021 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can raised its stake in shares of KKR Real Estate Finance Trust by 8.9% in the first quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 12,902 shares of the company’s stock valued at $272,000 after acquiring an additional 1,051 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its stake in shares of KKR Real Estate Finance Trust by 8.1% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 14,365 shares of the company’s stock valued at $191,000 after acquiring an additional 1,072 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of KKR Real Estate Finance Trust by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 426,200 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,950,000 after acquiring an additional 1,226 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Swiss National Bank raised its stake in shares of KKR Real Estate Finance Trust by 1.0% in the third quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 129,100 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,532,000 after acquiring an additional 1,300 shares during the last quarter. 70.23% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.