Short Interest in KKR Real Estate Finance Trust Inc. (NYSE:KREF) Declines By 11.5%

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On KKR Real Estate Finance Trust

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its stake in shares of KKR Real Estate Finance Trust by 144.9% in the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 145,896 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,802,000 after purchasing an additional 86,327 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC raised its holdings in KKR Real Estate Finance Trust by 311.8% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 99,319 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,226,000 after buying an additional 75,200 shares during the period. Algert Global LLC lifted its position in KKR Real Estate Finance Trust by 88.6% during the third quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 166,373 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,055,000 after buying an additional 78,180 shares in the last quarter. Zacks Investment Management purchased a new stake in KKR Real Estate Finance Trust during the third quarter worth approximately $2,792,000. Finally, Drive Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of KKR Real Estate Finance Trust in the third quarter worth $898,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.23% of the company’s stock.

KKR Real Estate Finance Trust Trading Up 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE KREF traded up $0.06 on Tuesday, reaching $11.38. 290,968 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 458,147. The stock has a market capitalization of $781.58 million, a PE ratio of 63.19 and a beta of 1.00. KKR Real Estate Finance Trust has a fifty-two week low of $8.71 and a fifty-two week high of $12.95. The company has a current ratio of 296.16, a quick ratio of 277.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.50. The company has a 50 day moving average of $10.56 and a 200 day moving average of $11.31.

KKR Real Estate Finance Trust (NYSE:KREF) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 3rd. The company reported $0.28 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 forecast that KKR Real Estate Finance Trust will post 1.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

KKR Real Estate Finance Trust Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st were issued a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 8.79%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 31st. KKR Real Estate Finance Trust’s payout ratio is currently 555.56%.

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.