Keefe, Bruyette & Woods Lowers KKR Real Estate Finance Trust (NYSE:KREF) Price Target to $6.00

Key Points

• Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut its price target on KKR Real Estate Finance Trust from $7.00 to $6.00 and maintains a "market perform" rating, implying only about a 0.25% downside from the current share price.
• KKR REIT missed its latest quarter with EPS of -$0.06 versus a $0.11 estimate and revenue of $20.89M versus $28.76M, recording a negative net margin of 23.55%.
• The stock trades around $6.02 (12‑month range $5.25–$9.98), carries a consensus "Hold" rating with an average target of $8.80, and is ~70% owned by institutional investors.

KKR Real Estate Finance Trust (NYSE:KREF - Get Free Report) had its price objective cut by research analysts at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $7.00 to $6.00 in a research report issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a "market perform" rating on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods' price objective indicates a potential downside of 0.25% from the stock's current price.

Several other analysts have also recently commented on the company. BTIG Research cut KKR Real Estate Finance Trust from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on KKR Real Estate Finance Trust from $10.00 to $9.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Wall Street Zen cut KKR Real Estate Finance Trust from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Saturday, April 18th. Zacks Research raised KKR Real Estate Finance Trust from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, April 10th. Finally, Citizens Jmp reduced their price target on KKR Real Estate Finance Trust from $10.00 to $9.50 and set a "market outperform" rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 23rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $8.80.

KKR Real Estate Finance Trust Stock Performance

KKR Real Estate Finance Trust stock traded down $0.08 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $6.02. 565,743 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,364,013. KKR Real Estate Finance Trust has a twelve month low of $5.25 and a twelve month high of $9.98. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $6.64 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $7.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.83, a quick ratio of 407.64 and a current ratio of 407.64. The firm has a market cap of $386.64 million, a PE ratio of -3.23 and a beta of 0.91.

KKR Real Estate Finance Trust (NYSE:KREF - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The company reported ($0.06) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.11 by ($0.17). The business had revenue of $20.89 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $28.76 million. KKR Real Estate Finance Trust had a negative net margin of 23.55% and a negative return on equity of 0.76%. Equities analysts predict that KKR Real Estate Finance Trust will post 0.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On KKR Real Estate Finance Trust

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in KREF. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its holdings in KKR Real Estate Finance Trust by 7.7% in the third quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 1,201,066 shares of the company's stock valued at $10,810,000 after acquiring an additional 85,411 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in KKR Real Estate Finance Trust by 36.2% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,145,916 shares of the company's stock valued at $10,313,000 after acquiring an additional 304,413 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in KKR Real Estate Finance Trust by 10.7% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,002,949 shares of the company's stock valued at $8,244,000 after acquiring an additional 96,947 shares during the last quarter. Nomura Holdings Inc. acquired a new position in KKR Real Estate Finance Trust in the third quarter valued at $5,212,000. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in KKR Real Estate Finance Trust by 4.9% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 574,289 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,721,000 after acquiring an additional 26,878 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.23% of the company's stock.

About KKR Real Estate Finance Trust

KKR Real Estate Finance Trust, Inc NYSE: KREF is a mortgage real estate investment trust sponsored by KKR & Co Inc The company focuses on originating, acquiring, financing and managing a diversified portfolio of commercial real estate debt and real estate-related assets across the United States and select European markets.

The trust's investment strategy is centered on lending to high-quality office, industrial, retail, multifamily and hotel properties. Its portfolio primarily consists of senior mortgage loans, mezzanine loans, floating-rate debt securities and preferred equity positions.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.