KKR & Co. Inc. (NYSE:KKR) Rating Increased to Moderate Buy at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods

Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded shares of KKR & Co. Inc. (NYSE:KKR) to a moderate buy rating in a research note issued to investors on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of KKR & Co. Inc. from $113.00 to $126.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their price target on shares of KKR & Co. Inc. from $128.00 to $125.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 13th. Piper Sandler cut their price target on KKR & Co. Inc. from $135.00 to $117.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 7th. Barclays lifted their price target on KKR & Co. Inc. from $122.00 to $124.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Finally, Zacks Research raised KKR & Co. Inc. from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, May 28th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, KKR & Co. Inc. currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $128.08.

KKR & Co. Inc. Stock Performance

NYSE KKR opened at $97.04 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $87.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.01, a PEG ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 1.79. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $95.37 and a 200 day simple moving average of $100.90. The company has a current ratio of 0.08, a quick ratio of 0.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. KKR & Co. Inc. has a 12-month low of $82.67 and a 12-month high of $153.87.

KKR & Co. Inc. (NYSE:KKR) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 27th. The asset manager reported $1.24 earnings per share for the quarter. KKR & Co. Inc. had a net margin of 13.94% and a return on equity of 5.42%. The firm had revenue of $5.74 billion for the quarter. Sell-side analysts predict that KKR & Co. Inc. will post 5.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

KKR & Co. Inc. Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 15th were paid a $0.195 dividend. This represents a $0.78 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 15th. This is a positive change from KKR & Co. Inc.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.18. KKR & Co. Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 26.53%.

KKR & Co. Inc. announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, May 5th that permits the company to repurchase $500.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the asset manager to buy up to 0.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at KKR & Co. Inc.

In related news, EVP Yael Cosset sold 30,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.80, for a total transaction of $1,764,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 127,868 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,518,638.40. This trade represents a 19.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 23.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On KKR & Co. Inc.

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brighton Jones LLC increased its stake in KKR & Co. Inc. by 109.6% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 4,661 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $689,000 after buying an additional 2,437 shares during the last quarter. Bison Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of KKR & Co. Inc. in the 4th quarter worth approximately $218,000. Sivia Capital Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of KKR & Co. Inc. by 13.1% in the 2nd quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 2,050 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $273,000 after buying an additional 237 shares during the last quarter. United Bank bought a new position in shares of KKR & Co. Inc. in the second quarter valued at approximately $769,000. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership bought a new position in shares of KKR & Co. Inc. in the second quarter valued at approximately $4,826,000. 76.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

KKR & Co. Inc. Company Profile

KKR & Co Inc is a global investment firm headquartered in New York City that specializes in private markets and alternative asset management. Founded in 1976 by Jerome Kohlberg Jr., Henry Kravis and George R. Roberts, the firm built its reputation in leveraged buyouts and has since expanded into a multi-strategy asset manager. KKR operates across private equity, credit, real assets (including real estate and infrastructure), growth equity and hedge fund strategies, offering a range of investment products and strategies for institutional and private investors.

KKR manages capital through traditional closed-end funds as well as customized vehicles such as separate accounts, co-investments, and listed investment vehicles.