KKR & Co. Inc. (NYSE:KKR) Receives Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

KKR & Co. Inc. (NYSE:KKR) has earned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the fourteen ratings firms that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and eleven have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price target among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $128.0833.

Several analysts recently issued reports on KKR shares. TD Cowen decreased their price objective on shares of KKR & Co. Inc. from $106.00 to $104.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Monday, May 18th. HSBC lifted their target price on shares of KKR & Co. Inc. from $118.00 to $121.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded shares of KKR & Co. Inc. to a “moderate buy” rating in a report on Monday. Piper Sandler lowered their price target on KKR & Co. Inc. from $135.00 to $117.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 7th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price objective on KKR & Co. Inc. from $145.00 to $110.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 7th.

KKR & Co. Inc. Stock Down 1.5%

Shares of KKR stock opened at $95.66 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $95.33 and its 200 day simple moving average is $100.68. KKR & Co. Inc. has a twelve month low of $82.67 and a twelve month high of $153.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 0.08 and a current ratio of 0.08. The company has a market capitalization of $85.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.54, a PEG ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 1.79.

KKR & Co. Inc. (NYSE:KKR) last announced its earnings results on Friday, February 27th. The asset manager reported $1.24 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. KKR & Co. Inc. had a return on equity of 5.42% and a net margin of 13.94%.The firm had revenue of $5.74 billion during the quarter. As a group, research analysts predict that KKR & Co. Inc. will post 5.54 EPS for the current year.

KKR & Co. Inc. Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 15th were issued a $0.195 dividend. This is an increase from KKR & Co. Inc.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.18. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 15th. This represents a $0.78 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.8%. KKR & Co. Inc.’s payout ratio is 26.53%.

KKR & Co. Inc. announced that its board has initiated a share buyback plan on Tuesday, May 5th that allows the company to repurchase $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the asset manager to reacquire up to 0.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Transactions at KKR & Co. Inc.

In other news, EVP Yael Cosset sold 30,000 shares of the company’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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 127,868 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,518,638.40. This represents a 19.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 23.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of KKR & Co. Inc.

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of KKR & Co. Inc. by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 60,064,587 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $7,657,034,000 after purchasing an additional 821,739 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in KKR & Co. Inc. by 6.9% in the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 19,507,741 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $1,804,470,000 after buying an additional 1,261,314 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of KKR & Co. Inc. by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 14,995,742 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $1,903,220,000 after acquiring an additional 146,285 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in KKR & Co. Inc. in the fourth quarter worth $1,715,929,000. Finally, First Manhattan CO. LLC. lifted its holdings in KKR & Co. Inc. by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. First Manhattan CO. LLC. now owns 8,597,044 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $1,095,951,000 after acquiring an additional 67,441 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.26% of the company’s stock.

About KKR & Co. Inc.

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.