KKR Real Estate Finance Trust Inc. to Issue Quarterly Dividend of $0.25 (NYSE:KREF)

KKR Real Estate Finance Trust Inc. (NYSE:KREF) declared a quarterly dividend on Tuesday, June 10th, RTT News reports. Investors of record on Monday, June 30th will be given a dividend of 0.25 per share on Tuesday, July 15th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 10.52%.

KKR Real Estate Finance Trust has a dividend payout ratio of 107.5% indicating that the company cannot currently cover its dividend with earnings alone and is relying on its balance sheet to cover its dividend payments. Equities research analysts expect KKR Real Estate Finance Trust to earn $1.08 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.00 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 92.6%.

KKR Real Estate Finance Trust Stock Up 1.2%

KKR Real Estate Finance Trust stock traded up $0.12 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $9.51. The stock had a trading volume of 67,400 shares, compared to its average volume of 514,606. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $9.13 and its 200-day moving average price is $10.24. KKR Real Estate Finance Trust has a 12-month low of $8.28 and a 12-month high of $12.95. The stock has a market capitalization of $644.50 million, a P/E ratio of 52.76 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a quick ratio of 296.16, a current ratio of 296.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.50.

KKR Real Estate Finance Trust (NYSE:KREF) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The company reported ($0.15) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.17 by ($0.32). KKR Real Estate Finance Trust had a net margin of 6.30% and a return on equity of 8.53%. The company had revenue of $31.34 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $34.77 million. Equities research analysts anticipate that KKR Real Estate Finance Trust will post 1.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Millennium Management LLC raised its position in shares of KKR Real Estate Finance Trust by 25.9% in the first quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 353,216 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,815,000 after buying an additional 72,566 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its holdings in KKR Real Estate Finance Trust by 317.2% in the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 204,589 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,210,000 after acquiring an additional 155,553 shares during the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC grew its position in shares of KKR Real Estate Finance Trust by 72.1% in the first quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 172,162 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,859,000 after purchasing an additional 72,140 shares in the last quarter. Caxton Associates LLP acquired a new stake in shares of KKR Real Estate Finance Trust in the first quarter valued at approximately $288,000. Finally, Strs Ohio acquired a new position in KKR Real Estate Finance Trust during the first quarter worth $123,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.23% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. JMP Securities restated a “market outperform” rating and set a $12.00 target price on shares of KKR Real Estate Finance Trust in a research report on Tuesday, May 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on KKR Real Estate Finance Trust from $11.50 to $9.50 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut shares of KKR Real Estate Finance Trust from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and set a $10.75 price target for the company. in a report on Monday, April 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $11.88.

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.