Zacks Research Downgrades KKR Real Estate Finance Trust (NYSE:KREF) to Strong Sell

Key Points

• Zacks Research downgraded KKR Real Estate Finance Trust (NYSE: KREF) from hold to strong sell, adding to a wave of cautious analyst sentiment on the stock.
• The company has faced multiple recent rating cuts, and its current consensus from analysts is a Reduce with an average target price of $8.40.
• KKR Real Estate Finance Trust also reported weaker-than-expected Q1 results, posting a loss of $0.06 per share versus an expected profit, while revenue came in below estimates.

KKR Real Estate Finance Trust (NYSE:KREF - Get Free Report) was downgraded by analysts at Zacks Research from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a report released on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

KREF has been the subject of a number of other reports. Citizens Jmp cut shares of KKR Real Estate Finance Trust from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Citigroup cut shares of KKR Real Estate Finance Trust from a "neutral" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of KKR Real Estate Finance Trust from a "sell" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 2nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their target price on shares of KKR Real Estate Finance Trust from $7.00 to $6.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 24th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a "sell (d)" rating on shares of KKR Real Estate Finance Trust in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, KKR Real Estate Finance Trust currently has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and an average target price of $8.40.

KKR Real Estate Finance Trust Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE KREF opened at $6.39 on Monday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $6.52 and a 200-day moving average price of $7.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.90, a current ratio of 407.64 and a quick ratio of 407.64. The stock has a market cap of $410.75 million, a PE ratio of -3.43 and a beta of 0.81. KKR Real Estate Finance Trust has a 1 year low of $5.25 and a 1 year high of $9.98.

KKR Real Estate Finance Trust (NYSE:KREF - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The company reported ($0.06) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.11 by ($0.17). The company had revenue of $20.89 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $28.76 million. KKR Real Estate Finance Trust had a negative net margin of 23.55% and a negative return on equity of 0.78%. Equities analysts anticipate that KKR Real Estate Finance Trust will post -1.09 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other KKR Real Estate Finance Trust news, COO W Patrick Mattson purchased 40,000 shares of KKR Real Estate Finance Trust stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 24th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $6.03 per share, for a total transaction of $241,200.00. Following the acquisition, the chief operating officer owned 500,287 shares in the company, valued at $3,016,730.61. This trade represents a 8.69% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Matthew A. Salem acquired 60,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 24th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $6.04 per share, for a total transaction of $362,400.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 703,075 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,246,573. The trade was a 9.33% increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Insiders own 2.12% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of KKR Real Estate Finance Trust by 7.7% in the 3rd 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 shares of KKR Real Estate Finance Trust by 36.2% in the 3rd 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 shares of KKR Real Estate Finance Trust by 10.7% in the 4th 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. purchased a new stake in shares of KKR Real Estate Finance Trust in the 3rd quarter valued at $5,212,000. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in shares of KKR Real Estate Finance Trust by 4.9% in the 4th 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. 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.

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.