KKR Real Estate Finance Trust (NYSE:KREF) Lowered to Strong Sell Rating by Wall Street Zen

KKR Real Estate Finance Trust (NYSE:KREF) was downgraded by stock analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “sell” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report released on Sunday.

KREF has been the subject of a number of other reports. Zacks Research lowered shares of KKR Real Estate Finance Trust from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Monday, May 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of KKR Real Estate Finance Trust from $8.00 to $6.50 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. Citizens Jmp cut KKR Real Estate Finance Trust from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, April 27th. Citigroup downgraded KKR Real Estate Finance Trust from a “neutral” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price target on KKR Real Estate Finance Trust from $7.00 to $6.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company 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 traded up $0.14 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $7.37. 711,096 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 910,611. The company has a market cap of $473.57 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -3.96 and a beta of 0.82. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $6.82 and a 200 day moving average price of $7.07. KKR Real Estate Finance Trust has a 52 week low of $5.25 and a 52 week high of $9.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.90, a current ratio of 407.64 and a quick ratio of 407.64.

KKR Real Estate Finance Trust (NYSE:KREF) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The company reported ($0.06) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.11 by ($0.17). The company had revenue of $20.89 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that KKR Real Estate Finance Trust will post -1.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other KKR Real Estate Finance Trust news, COO W Patrick Mattson bought 40,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 24th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $6.03 per share, for a total transaction of $241,200.00. Following the acquisition, the chief operating officer directly owned 500,287 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,016,730.61. This trade represents a 8.69% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Matthew A. Salem bought 60,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 24th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $6.04 per share, with a total value of $362,400.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer owned 703,075 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,246,573. The trade was a 9.33% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Company insiders own 2.12% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On KKR Real Estate Finance Trust

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of KREF. Conversant Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of KKR Real Estate Finance Trust in the 1st quarter valued at $9,000,000. Nomura Holdings Inc. acquired a new stake in KKR Real Estate Finance Trust during the 3rd quarter worth about $5,212,000. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. raised its holdings in KKR Real Estate Finance Trust by 368.5% during the 2nd quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 536,084 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,701,000 after buying an additional 421,657 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in KKR Real Estate Finance Trust by 92.2% during the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 841,503 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,380,000 after buying an additional 403,660 shares during the period. Finally, Compass Rose Asset Management LP purchased a new stake in KKR Real Estate Finance Trust during the fourth quarter valued at about $2,754,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.23% of the company’s stock.

KKR Real Estate Finance Trust Company Profile

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.