KKR Real Estate Finance Trust Inc. (NYSE:KREF) Short Interest Down 13.4% in August

KKR Real Estate Finance Trust Inc. (NYSE:KREF) was the target of a large drop in short interest during the month of August. As of August 31st, there was short interest totalling 1,230,000 shares, a drop of 13.4% from the August 15th total of 1,420,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 532,600 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.3 days.

KKR Real Estate Finance Trust Stock Performance

Shares of KKR Real Estate Finance Trust stock traded up $0.01 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $12.60. 499,318 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 541,828. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $11.21 and a 200-day simple moving average of $10.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.86, a current ratio of 392.62 and a quick ratio of 392.62. The stock has a market capitalization of $873.36 million, a P/E ratio of -27.39 and a beta of 0.99. KKR Real Estate Finance Trust has a 1 year low of $8.71 and a 1 year high of $14.12.

KKR Real Estate Finance Trust (NYSE:KREF) last posted its earnings results on Monday, July 22nd. The company reported ($1.57) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.30 by ($1.87). KKR Real Estate Finance Trust had a net margin of 5.88% and a return on equity of 9.88%. The firm had revenue of $47.60 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $45.47 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.48 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down 6.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that KKR Real Estate Finance Trust will post 1.35 EPS for the current year.

KKR Real Estate Finance Trust Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 30th will be given a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.94%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 30th. KKR Real Estate Finance Trust’s payout ratio is -217.39%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on KKR Real Estate Finance Trust from $10.00 to $9.50 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 16th. JMP Securities restated a “market outperform” rating and issued a $12.00 price objective on shares of KKR Real Estate Finance Trust in a report on Tuesday, May 21st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded shares of KKR Real Estate Finance Trust from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $11.50 to $13.00 in a report on Thursday, September 5th. Finally, BTIG Research restated a “buy” rating and issued a $11.50 price target on shares of KKR Real Estate Finance Trust in a research note on Friday, July 19th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $11.71.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in KKR Real Estate Finance Trust by 14.9% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 804,214 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,640,000 after acquiring an additional 104,360 shares in the last quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd bought a new position in shares of KKR Real Estate Finance Trust in the fourth quarter worth approximately $180,000. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S increased its stake in shares of KKR Real Estate Finance Trust by 7.4% in the fourth quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S now owns 145,384 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,923,000 after purchasing an additional 10,000 shares in the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of KKR Real Estate Finance Trust during the 4th quarter valued at $403,000. Finally, Aigen Investment Management LP bought a new stake in shares of KKR Real Estate Finance Trust during the 4th quarter valued at $290,000. 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.