KKR Real Estate Finance Trust (NYSE:KREF) Price Target Lowered to $7.00 at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods

Key Points

• Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut its price target on KKR Real Estate Finance Trust to $7.00 (from $8.00) and kept a "market perform" rating, an action the report says implies roughly a 14.47% upside from the stock's current price.
• Multiple brokerages have trimmed targets and ratings recently; the analyst consensus on KREF is a "Hold" with an average target of about $9.30 (analyst mix: 2 Buy, 3 Hold, 2 Sell).
• Shares opened around $6.12 (market cap ~$393M); the company beat quarterly EPS and revenue estimates but still reports negative ROE and net margin, and institutional investors own roughly 70% of the stock.

KKR Real Estate Finance Trust (NYSE:KREF - Get Free Report) had its target price dropped by Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $8.00 to $7.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a "market perform" rating on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods' price objective would suggest a potential upside of 14.47% from the company's current price.

A number of other brokerages have also commented on KREF. BTIG Research lowered KKR Real Estate Finance Trust from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Citizens Jmp decreased their price objective on KKR Real Estate Finance Trust from $10.00 to $9.50 and set a "market outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on KKR Real Estate Finance Trust from $8.50 to $8.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on KKR Real Estate Finance Trust from $10.00 to $9.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a "sell (d)" rating on shares of KKR Real Estate Finance Trust in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, KKR Real Estate Finance Trust currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $9.30.

KKR Real Estate Finance Trust Stock Up 0.6%

Shares of KREF opened at $6.12 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $393.05 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -5.82 and a beta of 0.91. 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 business's fifty day moving average price is $6.93 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $7.92. KKR Real Estate Finance Trust has a 52 week low of $5.87 and a 52 week high of $9.98.

KKR Real Estate Finance Trust (NYSE:KREF - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 3rd. The company reported $0.22 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.14 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $32.72 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $26.06 million. KKR Real Estate Finance Trust had a negative return on equity of 1.13% and a negative net margin of 10.80%. On average, analysts predict that KKR Real Estate Finance Trust will post 1.05 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On KKR Real Estate Finance Trust

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in KREF. Nomura Holdings Inc. acquired a new position in KKR Real Estate Finance Trust in the third quarter valued at about $5,212,000. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. lifted its holdings in KKR Real Estate Finance Trust by 368.5% during the second quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 536,084 shares of the company's stock worth $4,701,000 after acquiring an additional 421,657 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in KKR Real Estate Finance Trust by 92.2% during the second quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 841,503 shares of the company's stock worth $7,380,000 after acquiring an additional 403,660 shares in the last quarter. Compass Rose Asset Management LP bought a new position in KKR Real Estate Finance Trust during the fourth quarter worth about $2,754,000. Finally, Jane Street Group LLC lifted its holdings in KKR Real Estate Finance Trust by 653.0% during the fourth quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 356,231 shares of the company's stock worth $2,928,000 after acquiring an additional 308,920 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.

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