KKR Real Estate Finance Trust Inc. (NYSE:KREF) Short Interest Up 11.3% in October

October 30, 2022 Beth McCandry

KKR Real Estate Finance Trust Inc. (NYSE:KREF – Get Rating) was the target of a significant increase in short interest during the month of October. As of October 15th, there was short interest totaling 2,650,000 shares, an increase of 11.3% from the September 30th total of 2,380,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 553,900 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 4.8 days.

KKR Real Estate Finance Trust Stock Up 3.7%

NYSE:KREF opened at $17.78 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.23 billion, a PE ratio of 28.22 and a beta of 0.77. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $18.16 and a 200-day moving average of $18.70. KKR Real Estate Finance Trust has a 52 week low of $15.70 and a 52 week high of $22.44. The company has a current ratio of 309.42, a quick ratio of 430.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.69.

KKR Real Estate Finance Trust Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 30th were issued a dividend of $0.43 per share. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 9.67%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, September 29th. KKR Real Estate Finance Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 273.02%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On KKR Real Estate Finance Trust

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Nauset Wealth Management. LLC bought a new position in shares of KKR Real Estate Finance Trust during the first quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Signaturefd LLC grew its holdings in shares of KKR Real Estate Finance Trust by 40.2% during the first quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,889 shares of the company’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 542 shares during the last quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC grew its holdings in shares of KKR Real Estate Finance Trust by 241.9% during the first quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 2,120 shares of the company’s stock valued at $44,000 after purchasing an additional 1,500 shares during the last quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors bought a new position in shares of KKR Real Estate Finance Trust during the second quarter valued at approximately $56,000. Finally, Venture Visionary Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of KKR Real Estate Finance Trust during the second quarter valued at approximately $61,000. 74.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst’s Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on KREF. BTIG Research dropped their target price on KKR Real Estate Finance Trust to $19.00 in a research report on Thursday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on KKR Real Estate Finance Trust from $21.00 to $20.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, October 24th. Raymond James lowered their price objective on KKR Real Estate Finance Trust from $23.50 to $20.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, October 18th. JMP Securities lowered their price objective on KKR Real Estate Finance Trust from $22.00 to $19.00 and set a “market outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, October 25th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on KKR Real Estate Finance Trust to $22.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 27th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat, KKR Real Estate Finance Trust has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $20.00.

About KKR Real Estate Finance Trust

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KKR Real Estate Finance Trust Inc, a mortgage real estate investment trust, focuses primarily on originating and acquiring 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 mortgage loans, and commercial mortgage-backed securities.

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