Critical Analysis: Barings Participation Investors (NYSE:MPV) versus KKR & Co. Inc. (NYSE:KKR)

KKR & Co. Inc. (NYSE:KKR) and Barings Participation Investors (NYSE:MPV) are both finance companies, but which is the superior business? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their profitability, valuation, risk, institutional ownership, earnings, analyst recommendations and dividends.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

76.3% of KKR & Co. Inc. shares are owned by institutional investors. 39.3% of KKR & Co. Inc. shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 1.4% of Barings Participation Investors shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Dividends

KKR & Co. Inc. pays an annual dividend of $0.74 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.6%. Barings Participation Investors pays an annual dividend of $1.48 per share and has a dividend yield of 7.7%. KKR & Co. Inc. pays out 31.4% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. KKR & Co. Inc. has increased its dividend for 5 consecutive years.

Volatility & Risk

KKR & Co. Inc. has a beta of 1.99, meaning that its share price is 99% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Barings Participation Investors has a beta of 0.45, meaning that its share price is 55% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares KKR & Co. Inc. and Barings Participation Investors’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
KKR & Co. Inc.	13.84%	6.12%	1.06%
Barings Participation Investors	N/A	N/A	N/A

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and recommmendations for KKR & Co. Inc. and Barings Participation Investors, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
KKR & Co. Inc.	0	6	10	1	2.71
Barings Participation Investors	0	0	0	0	0.00

KKR & Co. Inc. presently has a consensus target price of $156.43, suggesting a potential upside of 26.69%. Given KKR & Co. Inc.’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, research analysts clearly believe KKR & Co. Inc. is more favorable than Barings Participation Investors.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares KKR & Co. Inc. and Barings Participation Investors”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
KKR & Co. Inc.	$21.88 billion	5.03	$3.08 billion	$2.36	52.32
Barings Participation Investors	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A

KKR & Co. Inc. has higher revenue and earnings than Barings Participation Investors.

Summary

KKR & Co. Inc. beats Barings Participation Investors on 12 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

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.

About Barings Participation Investors

Barings Participation Investors is a closed ended fixed income mutual fund launched and managed by Barings LLC. The fund invests in the fixed income markets of the United States. It primarily invests in below-investment grade, long-term corporate debt obligations which are directly purchased from its issuers. The fund also seeks to invest in warrants, conversion rights, or other equity related instruments. It benchmarks the performance of its portfolio against Standard and Poor's Industrials Composite, Russell 2000 Index, Lehman Brothers U.S. High Yield Index, and Lehman Brothers Intermediate U.S. Credit Index. The fund was formerly known as Babson Capital Participation Investors. Barings Participation Investors was formed on April 7, 1988 and is domiciled in the United States.