KKR Real Estate Finance Trust Inc. (NYSE:KREF) Sees Significant Growth in Short Interest

KKR Real Estate Finance Trust Inc. (NYSE:KREF - Get Free Report) was the target of a significant increase in short interest in May. As of May 15th, there was short interest totalling 2,390,000 shares, an increase of 40.6% from the April 30th total of 1,700,000 shares. Approximately 3.5% of the company's stock are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 569,900 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 4.2 days.

KKR Real Estate Finance Trust Stock Performance

Shares of KREF traded up $0.03 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $9.01. The company's stock had a trading volume of 581,082 shares, compared to its average volume of 514,413. KKR Real Estate Finance Trust has a 1-year low of $8.28 and a 1-year high of $12.95. The stock has a market cap of $610.59 million, a P/E ratio of 50.03 and a beta of 0.95. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $9.20 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $10.29. The company has a current ratio of 296.16, a quick ratio of 296.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.50.

KKR Real Estate Finance Trust (NYSE:KREF - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 23rd. The company reported ($0.15) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.17 by ($0.32). KKR Real Estate Finance Trust had a net margin of 6.30% and a return on equity of 8.53%. The business had revenue of $31.34 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.77 million. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that KKR Real Estate Finance Trust will post 1.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

KKR Real Estate Finance Trust Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st were given a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 31st. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 11.10%. KKR Real Estate Finance Trust's payout ratio is 625.00%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

KREF has been the subject of a number of research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on KKR Real Estate Finance Trust from $11.50 to $9.50 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. JMP Securities reissued a "market outperform" rating and set a $12.00 price target on shares of KKR Real Estate Finance Trust in a research report on Tuesday, May 20th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut KKR Real Estate Finance Trust from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating and set a $10.75 price target for the company. in a research report on Monday, April 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $11.88.

Institutional Trading of KKR Real Estate Finance Trust

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wellington Management Group LLP bought a new position in shares of KKR Real Estate Finance Trust in the 4th quarter valued at $5,350,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its stake in shares of KKR Real Estate Finance Trust by 2,400.3% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 477,633 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,825,000 after purchasing an additional 458,530 shares during the last quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. increased its stake in shares of KKR Real Estate Finance Trust by 116.5% in the 4th quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 844,610 shares of the company's stock valued at $8,531,000 after purchasing an additional 454,517 shares during the last quarter. Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of KKR Real Estate Finance Trust during the 4th quarter valued at $2,477,000. Finally, Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in shares of KKR Real Estate Finance Trust during the 1st quarter valued at $2,241,000. 70.23% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

KKR Real Estate Finance Trust Company Profile

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.