KKR Real Estate Finance Trust (NYSE:KREF) Stock Rated “Hold” by Sell-Side Brokerages

KKR Real Estate Finance Trust (NYSE:KREF) has been assigned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the nine brokerages that are covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price objective among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $8.67.

KREF has been the subject of several research reports. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d)” rating on shares of KKR Real Estate Finance Trust in a research note on Thursday, October 15th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price objective on shares of KKR Real Estate Finance Trust from $6.50 to $5.50 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, November 3rd. Raymond James Financial raised shares of KKR Real Estate Finance Trust from an “outperform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and set a $9.50 price objective on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of KKR Real Estate Finance Trust from $8.00 to $7.50 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 24th. Finally, Citigroup reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of KKR Real Estate Finance Trust in a research report on Tuesday, September 15th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On KKR Real Estate Finance Trust

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new stake in shares of KKR Real Estate Finance Trust in the second quarter valued at about $2,744,000. Conversant Capital LLC bought a new stake in KKR Real Estate Finance Trust during the first quarter worth about $9,000,000. Endure Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in KKR Real Estate Finance Trust during the first quarter worth about $1,545,000. Corient Private Wealth LP acquired a new position in KKR Real Estate Finance Trust during the second quarter valued at approximately $1,321,000. Finally, BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in KKR Real Estate Finance Trust during the second quarter valued at approximately $40,349,000. 70.23% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

KKR Real Estate Finance Trust Stock Performance

Shares of KKR Real Estate Finance Trust stock opened at $5.53 on Thursday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $6.23 and its 200 day simple moving average is $6.80. KKR Real Estate Finance Trust has a 52-week low of $4.93 and a 52-week high of $9.10. The firm has a market cap of $317.04 million, a PE ratio of -1.58 and a beta of 0.91.

KKR Real Estate Finance Trust Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 30th were given a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, September 30th. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.2%. KKR Real Estate Finance Trust’s payout ratio is -11.40%.

About KKR Real Estate Finance Trust

KKR Real Estate Finance Trust Inc. is a real estate investment trust that originates and acquires commercial real estate loans. Its investments are primarily senior loans secured by commercial properties, with additional exposure to other forms of commercial real estate debt and select related investments. The company focuses on properties in the United States and is externally managed by an affiliate of KKR, drawing on KKR’s real estate and credit investment platform. KKR Real Estate Finance Trust was established in 2014 and became publicly traded in 2017.