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

Key Points

• KKR Real Estate Finance Trust has been upgraded by Wall Street Zen from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating, reflecting a change in analysts' outlook on the stock.
• Keefe, Bruyette & Woods downgraded the stock to a "market perform" rating with a target price of $10.75, while JMP Securities maintained a "market outperform" rating at a $12.00 target price.
• The company's stock performance shows a current market cap of $603.93 million, with shares recently trading at $9.20, and it has a reported negative EPS of ($0.53) for the last quarter.

KKR Real Estate Finance Trust (NYSE:KREF - Get Free Report) was upgraded by equities researchers at Wall Street Zen from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note issued on Saturday.

Several other research firms have also recently weighed in on KREF. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut KKR Real Estate Finance Trust from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating and set a $10.75 price objective for the company. in a report on Monday, April 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on KKR Real Estate Finance Trust from $11.50 to $9.50 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, JMP Securities restated a "market outperform" rating and issued a $12.00 target price on shares of KKR Real Estate Finance Trust in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $11.95.

KKR Real Estate Finance Trust Trading Up 0.8%

NYSE KREF traded up $0.08 on Friday, hitting $9.26. The company's stock had a trading volume of 576,447 shares, compared to its average volume of 753,607. KKR Real Estate Finance Trust has a 52-week low of $8.28 and a 52-week high of $12.95. The company has a current ratio of 440.20, a quick ratio of 440.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.81. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $9.09 and its 200 day simple moving average is $9.82. The firm has a market cap of $607.87 million, a P/E ratio of -14.02 and a beta of 0.91.

KKR Real Estate Finance Trust (NYSE:KREF - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 22nd. The company reported ($0.53) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.16) by ($0.37). KKR Real Estate Finance Trust had a positive return on equity of 1.61% and a negative net margin of 4.43%. The business had revenue of $35.75 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $32.55 million. Research analysts predict that KKR Real Estate Finance Trust will post 1.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in KREF. Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of KKR Real Estate Finance Trust by 9,954.2% in the 1st quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 2,413 shares of the company's stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 2,389 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP bought a new stake in shares of KKR Real Estate Finance Trust in the first quarter worth $28,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in shares of KKR Real Estate Finance Trust by 2,508.7% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 5,400 shares of the company's stock worth $58,000 after acquiring an additional 5,193 shares during the period. Acadian Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of KKR Real Estate Finance Trust in the first quarter worth $66,000. Finally, KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS bought a new stake in shares of KKR Real Estate Finance Trust in the fourth quarter worth $96,000. 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, 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.