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

KKR Real Estate Finance Trust Inc. (NYSE:KREF) was the target of a significant drop in short interest during the month of January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 1,150,000 shares, a drop of 11.5% from the January 15th total of 1,300,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 480,800 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.4 days.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on KREF shares. Raymond James lowered their target price on KKR Real Estate Finance Trust from $14.00 to $13.50 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their target price on KKR Real Estate Finance Trust from $13.00 to $12.25 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on KKR Real Estate Finance Trust from $11.50 to $10.50 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, JMP Securities lifted their price objective on shares of KKR Real Estate Finance Trust from $12.50 to $13.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, KKR Real Estate Finance Trust has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $12.46.

KKR Real Estate Finance Trust Trading Up 0.8 %

KREF stock traded up $0.10 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $11.30. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 278,792 shares, compared to its average volume of 481,158. KKR Real Estate Finance Trust has a 1 year low of $8.71 and a 1 year high of $12.95. The firm has a market capitalization of $776.08 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 62.75 and a beta of 1.00. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $10.57 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $11.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.50, a quick ratio of 277.63 and a current ratio of 296.16.

KKR Real Estate Finance Trust (NYSE:KREF) last issued its earnings results on Monday, February 3rd. The company reported $0.28 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.08 by $0.20. KKR Real Estate Finance Trust had a net margin of 6.30% and a return on equity of 8.53%. On average, equities research analysts predict that KKR Real Estate Finance Trust will post 1.05 EPS for the current year.

KKR Real Estate Finance Trust Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st were given a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 8.85%. KKR Real Estate Finance Trust’s payout ratio is presently 555.56%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Squarepoint Ops LLC purchased a new position in shares of KKR Real Estate Finance Trust in the 4th quarter worth approximately $199,000. Sherbrooke Park Advisers LLC purchased a new position in KKR Real Estate Finance Trust in the fourth quarter worth $119,000. ProShare Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of KKR Real Estate Finance Trust by 44.5% during the fourth quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 17,710 shares of the company’s stock worth $179,000 after purchasing an additional 5,457 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of KKR Real Estate Finance Trust by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 214,950 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,171,000 after purchasing an additional 4,294 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Millennium Management LLC boosted its position in shares of KKR Real Estate Finance Trust by 40.6% in the 4th quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 280,650 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,835,000 after purchasing an additional 81,028 shares in the last quarter. 70.23% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.