Wall Street brokers expect KKR Real Estate Finance Trust Inc. (NYSE:KREF – Get Rating) to report earnings per share (EPS) of $0.41 for the current quarter, Zacks reports. Two analysts provided earnings estimates for KKR Real Estate Finance Trust, with the lowest EPS estimate of $0.37 and the highest estimate of $0.44. KKR Real Estate Finance Trust posted earnings of $0.54 per share in the same quarter last year, which would indicate a negative 24.1% year-over-year growth rate. The company is expected to announce its next quarterly results on Monday, January 1.

On average, analysts expect KKR Real Estate Finance Trust to report annual earnings of $1.74 per share for the current fiscal year, with EPS estimates ranging from $1.68 to $1.80 . For next year, analysts expect the company to post earnings of $1.88 per share. Zacks Investment Research earnings per share averages are an average average based on a survey of sell-side research firms that track KKR Real Estate Finance Trust.

KKR Real Estate Finance Trust (NYSE:KREF – Get Rating) last released its quarterly results on Monday, April 25. The company reported earnings per share (EPS) of $0.47 for the quarter, beating consensus analyst estimates of $0.44 by $0.03. KKR Real Estate Finance Trust recorded a return on equity of 7.90% and a net margin of 54.74%. In the same period of the previous year, the company had earned earnings per share of $0.55.

A number of brokerages have recently released reports on KREF. Raymond James raised his price target on KKR Real Estate Finance Trust from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a Thursday, Feb. 10 research note. JMP Securities lowered its price target on KKR Real Estate Finance Trust from $23.50 to $23.00 and set a “market outperformance” rating on the stock in a Monday, March 21 report.

Shares of KKR Real Estate Finance Trust opened at $18.85 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $1.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.81 and a beta of 0.66. KKR Real Estate Finance Trust has a 1 year minimum of $18.52 and a 1 year maximum of $23.42. The company has a 50-day moving average of $19.84 and a 200-day moving average of $20.62. The company has a current ratio of 409.61, a quick ratio of 409.61 and a debt ratio of 3.30.

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 15. Investors of record on Thursday, March 31 received a dividend of $0.43. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 30. This represents a dividend of $1.72 on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 9.12%. The dividend payout ratio (DPR) of KKR Real Estate Finance Trust is currently 80.37%.

In other news from KKR Real Estate Finance Trust, major shareholder Reft Holdings LP Kkr sold 4,250,000 shares of the company in a transaction on Tuesday, June 7. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.51, for a total transaction of $82,917,500.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 10,000,000 shares of the company, valued at approximately $195,100,000. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.30% of the shares of the company.

A number of hedge funds have recently increased or reduced their holdings in KREF. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in KKR Real Estate Finance Trust by 43.0% in the first quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 1,729,030 shares of the company worth $35,635,000 after purchasing an additional 519,584 shares during the period. Jane Street Group LLC purchased a new stake in KKR Real Estate Finance Trust in the first quarter worth approximately $271,000. Pinz Capital Management LP bought a new position in KKR Real Estate Finance Trust in the first quarter worth approximately $2,061,000. State Street Corp raised its position in KKR Real Estate Finance Trust by 8.1% in the first quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,481,982 shares of the company worth $31,167,000 after acquiring an additional 111,647 shares during the period. Finally, Samalin Investment Counsel LLC increased its position in KKR Real Estate Finance Trust by 60.9% in the first quarter. Samalin Investment Counsel LLC now owns 15,679 shares of the company worth $323,000 after acquiring an additional 5,932 shares during the period. 78.72% of the shares are held by institutional investors.

About KKR Real Estate Finance Trust (Get a rating)

KKR Real Estate Finance Trust Inc, a mortgage real estate investment trust, is primarily focused on originating and acquiring senior loans secured by commercial real estate (CRA) assets. It engages in the origination and purchase of CRE-related credit investments, including leveraged and unleveraged commercial mortgages, and commercial mortgage-backed securities.

See also

Get a Free Copy of Zacks Research Report on KKR Real Estate Finance Trust (KREF)

For more information on Zacks Investment Research’s research offerings, visit Zacks.com

This instant alert was powered by MarketBeat’s narrative science technology and financial data to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reports. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat’s editorial team prior to publication. Please send questions or comments about this story to [email protected]

Should you invest $1,000 in KKR Real Estate Finance Trust right now?

Before you consider KKR Real Estate Finance Trust, you’ll want to hear this.

MarketBeat tracks daily the highest rated and most successful research analysts on Wall Street and the stocks they recommend to their clients. MarketBeat has identified the five stocks that top analysts are quietly whispering to their clients to buy now before the market goes all-out…and KKR Real Estate Finance Trust was not on the list.

While KKR Real Estate Finance Trust currently has a “Buy” rating among analysts, top-rated analysts believe these five stocks are better buys.

See the 5 actions here