KKR Real Estate Finance Trust (NYSE:KREF – Get Free Report) and BrightSpire Capital (NYSE:BRSP – Get Free Report) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their risk, profitability, dividends, analyst recommendations, earnings, institutional ownership and valuation.
Insider and Institutional Ownership
70.2% of KKR Real Estate Finance Trust shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 56.6% of BrightSpire Capital shares are owned by institutional investors. 1.2% of KKR Real Estate Finance Trust shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 1.9% of BrightSpire Capital shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.
Analyst Ratings
This is a summary of current ratings and target prices for KKR Real Estate Finance Trust and BrightSpire Capital, as reported by MarketBeat.com.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| KKR Real Estate Finance Trust | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 3.00 |
| BrightSpire Capital | 1 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 2.17 |
Valuation & Earnings
This table compares KKR Real Estate Finance Trust and BrightSpire Capital”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| KKR Real Estate Finance Trust | $164.97 million | 4.28 | -$30.85 million | ($0.30) | -33.83 |
| BrightSpire Capital | $364.80 million | 2.02 | -$15.55 million | ($1.02) | -5.58 |
BrightSpire Capital has higher revenue and earnings than KKR Real Estate Finance Trust. KKR Real Estate Finance Trust is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than BrightSpire Capital, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Dividends
KKR Real Estate Finance Trust pays an annual dividend of $1.00 per share and has a dividend yield of 9.9%. BrightSpire Capital pays an annual dividend of $0.64 per share and has a dividend yield of 11.2%. KKR Real Estate Finance Trust pays out -333.3% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. BrightSpire Capital pays out -62.7% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years.
Profitability
This table compares KKR Real Estate Finance Trust and BrightSpire Capital’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| KKR Real Estate Finance Trust | 0.40% | 9.46% | 1.86% |
| BrightSpire Capital | -69.35% | 9.44% | 2.79% |
Risk & Volatility
KKR Real Estate Finance Trust has a beta of 1, indicating that its share price has a similar volatility profile to the S&P 500.Comparatively, BrightSpire Capital has a beta of 1.88, indicating that its share price is 88% more volatile than the S&P 500.
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. The company has elected to be taxed as a real estate investment trust and would not be subject to federal corporate income taxes if it distributes at least 90% of its taxable income to its stockholders. KKR Real Estate Finance Trust Inc. was incorporated in 2014 and is headquartered in New York, New York.
About BrightSpire Capital
BrightSpire Capital, Inc. operates as a commercial real estate (CRE) credit real estate investment trust in the United States and Europe. The company operates through Senior and Mezzanine Loans and Preferred Equity; Net Leased and Other Real Estate; and Corporate and Other segments. It focuses on originating, acquiring, financing, and managing a diversified portfolio of CRE debt investments consisting of first mortgage loans, senior loans, debt securities, mezzanine loans, and preferred equity investments, as well as net leased properties. The company qualifies as a real estate investment trust for federal income tax purposes. It generally would not be subject to federal corporate income taxes if it distributes at least 90% of its taxable income to its stockholders. The company was formerly known as Colony Credit Real Estate, Inc. and changed its name to BrightSpire Capital, Inc. in June 2021. BrightSpire Capital, Inc. was incorporated in 2017 and is headquartered in New York, New York.
Receive News & Ratings for KKR Real Estate Finance Trust Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for KKR Real Estate Finance Trust and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter.
