KKR Real Estate Finance Trust Inc. (NYSE:KREF) Short Interest Up 15.0% in March

KKR Real Estate Finance Trust Inc. (NYSE:KREF) saw a significant growth in short interest during the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 1,230,000 shares, a growth of 15.0% from the March 15th total of 1,070,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 615,200 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.0 days.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on KREF shares. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on KKR Real Estate Finance Trust from $12.00 to $10.50 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on KKR Real Estate Finance Trust from $11.50 to $10.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Finally, JMP Securities reduced their price target on KKR Real Estate Finance Trust from $14.50 to $13.00 and set a “market outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, KKR Real Estate Finance Trust has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $12.33.

KKR Real Estate Finance Trust Price Performance

NYSE:KREF traded down $0.09 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $9.51. 496,333 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 600,635. The firm has a market cap of $659.14 million, a P/E ratio of -12.19 and a beta of 0.96. KKR Real Estate Finance Trust has a 52 week low of $9.09 and a 52 week high of $14.12. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $9.78 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $11.35. The company has a quick ratio of 361.75, a current ratio of 361.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.32.

KKR Real Estate Finance Trust Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 28th were paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 10.52%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 27th. KKR Real Estate Finance Trust’s dividend payout ratio is -128.21%.

Insider Activity at KKR Real Estate Finance Trust

In other KKR Real Estate Finance Trust news, CEO Matthew A. Salem purchased 26,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 8th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $9.72 per share, with a total value of $252,720.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 460,309 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,474,203.48. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, CEO Matthew A. Salem bought 26,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 8th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $9.72 per share, with a total value of $252,720.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 460,309 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,474,203.48. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, COO W Patrick Mattson bought 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 8th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $9.72 per share, with a total value of $97,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 308,446 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,998,095.12. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On KKR Real Estate Finance Trust

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. TFO Wealth Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of KKR Real Estate Finance Trust by 21,842.9% in the fourth quarter. TFO Wealth Partners LLC now owns 3,072 shares of the company’s stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 3,058 shares during the period. LM Advisors LLC purchased a new position in KKR Real Estate Finance Trust during the 4th quarter valued at about $42,000. Captrust Financial Advisors purchased a new position in KKR Real Estate Finance Trust during the 2nd quarter valued at about $56,000. Quarry LP increased its holdings in KKR Real Estate Finance Trust by 542.7% during the 1st quarter. Quarry LP now owns 3,850 shares of the company’s stock valued at $44,000 after purchasing an additional 3,251 shares during the period. Finally, Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC purchased a new position in KKR Real Estate Finance Trust during the 1st quarter valued at about $40,000. 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.