KKR & Co. Inc. (NYSE:KKR) Stock Price Up 6.1% – Should You Buy?

KKR & Co. Inc. (NYSE:KKR)’s share price rose 6.1% on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $109.50 and last traded at $110.1750. 1,702,797 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 71% from the average session volume of 5,873,632 shares. The stock had previously closed at $103.83.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

KKR has been the subject of several recent research reports. HSBC raised their price objective on KKR & Co. Inc. from $118.00 to $121.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 20th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised shares of KKR & Co. Inc. to a “moderate buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 20th. Argus lifted their target price on shares of KKR & Co. Inc. from $115.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on KKR & Co. Inc. from $153.00 to $147.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 21st. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded KKR & Co. Inc. from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 28th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $127.75.

KKR & Co. Inc. Price Performance

The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $97.21 and a 200 day moving average price of $98.00. The stock has a market cap of $99.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.40, a P/E/G ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 1.78. The company has a quick ratio of 0.09, a current ratio of 0.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71.

KKR & Co. Inc. (NYSE:KKR) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The asset manager reported $1.63 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.43 by $0.20. The business had revenue of $5.73 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.55 billion. KKR & Co. Inc. had a net margin of 14.41% and a return on equity of 5.88%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.18 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that KKR & Co. Inc. will post 5.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

KKR & Co. Inc. Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, August 25th. Investors of record on Monday, August 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.195 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 10th. This represents a $0.78 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. KKR & Co. Inc.’s payout ratio is 24.84%.

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On KKR & Co. Inc.

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of KKR. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its position in shares of KKR & Co. Inc. by 109.6% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 4,661 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $689,000 after acquiring an additional 2,437 shares in the last quarter. Bison Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of KKR & Co. Inc. during the fourth quarter worth about $218,000. Sivia Capital Partners LLC raised its stake in KKR & Co. Inc. by 13.1% during the 2nd quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 2,050 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $273,000 after purchasing an additional 237 shares during the period. United Bank bought a new stake in KKR & Co. Inc. during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $769,000. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership purchased a new position in KKR & Co. Inc. in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $4,826,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.26% of the company’s stock.

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.