KKR Real Estate Finance Trust (NYSE:KREF) Rating Increased to Hold at Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• KKR Real Estate Finance Trust was upgraded from a "sell" to a "hold" rating by analysts at Wall Street Zen, reflecting a more optimistic outlook for the company.
• JMP Securities reaffirmed a "market outperform" rating for KKR Real Estate Finance Trust, setting a target price of $12.00 per share.
• The company has a market capitalization of $647.28 million and reported a quarterly loss with EPS of ($0.53), which missed analyst expectations.

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of KKR Real Estate Finance Trust (NYSE:KREF - Free Report) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a report released on Friday.

Separately, JMP Securities reaffirmed a "market outperform" rating and issued a $12.00 target price on shares of KKR Real Estate Finance Trust in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $11.95.

KKR Real Estate Finance Trust Stock Performance

NYSE:KREF traded down $0.06 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $9.82. 521,977 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 478,419. The stock has a market capitalization of $644.65 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -14.87 and a beta of 0.91. KKR Real Estate Finance Trust has a twelve month low of $8.28 and a twelve month high of $12.95. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $9.24 and a 200 day moving average of $9.54. The company has a current ratio of 440.20, a quick ratio of 440.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.81.

KKR Real Estate Finance Trust (NYSE:KREF - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 22nd. The company reported ($0.53) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.16) by ($0.37). The company had revenue of $35.75 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $32.55 million. KKR Real Estate Finance Trust had a negative net margin of 4.43% and a positive return on equity of 1.61%. On average, analysts forecast 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 30th were given a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 30th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 10.2%. KKR Real Estate Finance Trust's dividend payout ratio is presently -151.52%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Wedbush Securities Inc. lifted its position in KKR Real Estate Finance Trust by 1.5% during the 1st quarter. Wedbush Securities Inc. now owns 80,386 shares of the company's stock valued at $868,000 after purchasing an additional 1,199 shares during the period. Police & Firemen s Retirement System of New Jersey raised its position in shares of KKR Real Estate Finance Trust by 12.1% in the 2nd quarter. Police & Firemen s Retirement System of New Jersey now owns 13,466 shares of the company's stock valued at $118,000 after acquiring an additional 1,457 shares during the period. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. raised its position in shares of KKR Real Estate Finance Trust by 100.0% in the 2nd quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 3,450 shares of the company's stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 1,725 shares during the period. State of Alaska Department of Revenue raised its position in shares of KKR Real Estate Finance Trust by 6.0% in the 2nd quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 33,895 shares of the company's stock valued at $296,000 after acquiring an additional 1,913 shares during the period. Finally, Teacher Retirement System of Texas raised its position in shares of KKR Real Estate Finance Trust by 15.4% in the 1st quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 14,980 shares of the company's stock valued at $162,000 after acquiring an additional 2,002 shares during the period. 70.23% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.