KKR Real Estate Finance Trust (NYSE:KREF) Stock Price Target Lowered at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods

Key Points

• Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered KREF’s price target from $7.00 to $6.50 while maintaining a “market perform” rating, implying about 7% upside from the prior close.
• KREF shares fell 4.6% to $6.08, near the lower end of their 12-month range. The company recently reported a quarterly EPS loss of $0.58, slightly worse than analyst estimates.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed but centers on a “Hold” consensus, with an average price target of $8.83; institutional investors own approximately 70.23% of the stock.

KKR Real Estate Finance Trust (NYSE:KREF - Get Free Report) had its target price reduced by Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $7.00 to $6.50 in a research report issued on Friday, Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a "market perform" rating on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods' price target would indicate a potential upside of 7.00% from the company's previous close.

Several other research firms have also commented on KREF. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of KKR Real Estate Finance Trust from a "sell" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research note on Sunday, July 12th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "sell (d)" rating on shares of KKR Real Estate Finance Trust in a report on Friday, July 17th. Raymond James Financial raised KKR Real Estate Finance Trust from an "outperform" rating to a "strong-buy" rating and set a $9.50 price objective on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on KKR Real Estate Finance Trust from $8.00 to $7.50 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded KKR Real Estate Finance Trust from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, July 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has assigned a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $8.83.

KKR Real Estate Finance Trust Trading Down 4.6%

Shares of KREF traded down $0.29 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $6.08. The stock had a trading volume of 287,272 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,174,628. The company has a market capitalization of $355.86 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -1.85 and a beta of 0.88. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $7.11 and a 200 day simple moving average of $6.88. KKR Real Estate Finance Trust has a 12 month low of $5.25 and a 12 month high of $9.10.

KKR Real Estate Finance Trust (NYSE:KREF - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 21st. The company reported ($0.58) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.56) by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $29.34 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $24.97 million. KKR Real Estate Finance Trust had a negative return on equity of 1.53% and a negative net margin of 47.33%. On average, equities analysts forecast that KKR Real Estate Finance Trust will post 0.28 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Trading of KKR Real Estate Finance Trust

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in KREF. Conversant Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of KKR Real Estate Finance Trust during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $9,000,000. Endure Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of KKR Real Estate Finance Trust in the first quarter worth $1,545,000. Corient Private Wealth LP purchased a new position in shares of KKR Real Estate Finance Trust in the second quarter valued at $1,321,000. Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new position in shares of KKR Real Estate Finance Trust in the second quarter valued at $2,744,000. Finally, BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in shares of KKR Real Estate Finance Trust during the 2nd quarter valued at $40,349,000. 70.23% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

KKR Real Estate Finance Trust Company Profile

KKR Real Estate Finance Trust Inc NYSE: KREF is a real estate investment trust that originates, acquires and manages commercial real estate loans. The company primarily focuses on senior mortgage loans secured by institutional-quality properties, with an emphasis on transitional assets that may require renovation, leasing or other improvements.

KREF's loan portfolio is generally backed by commercial properties across major U.S. markets. The underlying properties may include multifamily, office, hotel, industrial, life science, student housing and other commercial real estate assets.

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