Comparing Sprott (NYSE:SII) and KKR & Co. Inc. (NYSE:KKR)

Sprott (NYSE:SII) and KKR & Co. Inc. (NYSE:KKR) are both finance companies, but which is the superior stock? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their valuation, profitability, risk, earnings, institutional ownership, analyst recommendations and dividends.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

28.3% of Sprott shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 76.3% of KKR & Co. Inc. shares are owned by institutional investors. 18.3% of Sprott shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 23.2% of KKR & Co. Inc. shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Sprott and KKR & Co. Inc.”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Sprott	$268.78 million	13.97	$67.35 million	$2.60	55.99
KKR & Co. Inc.	$19.21 billion	4.74	$2.37 billion	$2.34	43.63

KKR & Co. Inc. has higher revenue and earnings than Sprott. KKR & Co. Inc. is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Sprott, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Profitability

This table compares Sprott and KKR & Co. Inc.’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Sprott	23.62%	19.47%	14.82%
KKR & Co. Inc.	11.97%	5.57%	0.99%

Dividends

Sprott pays an annual dividend of $1.60 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.1%. KKR & Co. Inc. pays an annual dividend of $0.74 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.7%. Sprott pays out 61.5% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. KKR & Co. Inc. pays out 31.6% 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. Sprott has raised its dividend for 1 consecutive years and KKR & Co. Inc. has raised its dividend for 5 consecutive years.

Volatility and Risk

Sprott has a beta of 0.98, meaning that its stock price is 2% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, KKR & Co. Inc. has a beta of 1.93, meaning that its stock price is 93% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent ratings and target prices for Sprott and KKR & Co. Inc., as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Sprott	0	1	2	0	2.67
KKR & Co. Inc.	1	3	12	1	2.76

Sprott presently has a consensus price target of $132.00, indicating a potential downside of 9.33%. KKR & Co. Inc. has a consensus price target of $138.07, indicating a potential upside of 35.23%. Given KKR & Co. Inc.’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe KKR & Co. Inc. is more favorable than Sprott.

Summary

KKR & Co. Inc. beats Sprott on 11 of the 18 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Sprott

Sprott Inc. is a publicly owned asset management holding company. Through its subsidiaries, the firm provides asset management, portfolio management, wealth management, fund management, and administrative and consulting services to its clients. It offers mutual funds, hedge funds, and offshore funds, along with managed accounts. Further, the firm also provides broker-dealer activities. Sprott Inc. was formed on February 13, 2008 and is based in Toronto, Canada.

About KKR & Co. Inc.

KKR & Co., Inc. operates as an investment firm. It offers alternative asset management as well as capital markets and insurance solutions. The firm’s business segments include Asset Management and Insurance Business. The Asset Management segment engages in providing private equity, real assets, credit and liquid strategies, capital markets, and principal activities. The Insurance Business segment offers retirement, life insurance and reinsurance solutions to clients across individual and institutional markets. The company was founded by Henry Kravis, George R. Roberts, and Jerome Kholberg on May 1, 1976 and is headquartered in New York, NY.