KKR & Co. Inc. (NYSE:KKR) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

KKR & Co. Inc. (NYSE:KKR) has been assigned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the seventeen analysts that are covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $134.5333.

KKR has been the topic of several recent research reports. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of KKR & Co. Inc. from $177.00 to $153.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Piper Sandler lowered their price target on shares of KKR & Co. Inc. from $135.00 to $117.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 7th. Barclays lowered their price target on shares of KKR & Co. Inc. from $127.00 to $122.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on shares of KKR & Co. Inc. from $125.00 to $106.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 24th. Finally, TD Cowen lowered their price target on shares of KKR & Co. Inc. from $106.00 to $104.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, May 18th.

Insider Buying and Selling at KKR & Co. Inc.

In related news, Director Timothy R. Barakett purchased 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 4th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $94.47 per share, with a total value of $4,723,500.00. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 285,000 shares in the company, valued at $26,923,950. This trade represents a 21.28% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 23.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On KKR & Co. Inc.

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of KKR & Co. Inc. by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 60,064,587 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $7,657,034,000 after buying an additional 821,739 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of KKR & Co. Inc. by 6.9% in the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 19,507,741 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $1,804,470,000 after buying an additional 1,261,314 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted 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 worth $1,903,220,000 after buying an additional 146,285 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of KKR & Co. Inc. in the 4th quarter worth about $1,715,929,000. Finally, First Manhattan CO. LLC. boosted its position in shares of KKR & Co. Inc. by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. First Manhattan CO. LLC. now owns 8,597,044 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $1,095,951,000 after buying an additional 67,441 shares in the last quarter. 76.26% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

KKR & Co. Inc. Stock Performance

Shares of KKR opened at $94.01 on Friday. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $84.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.97, a P/E/G ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 1.85. The company’s fifty day moving average is $96.36 and its two-hundred day moving average is $109.21. KKR & Co. Inc. has a 1 year low of $82.67 and a 1 year high of $153.87.

KKR & Co. Inc. (NYSE:KKR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 27th. The asset manager reported $1.24 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The company had revenue of $5.74 billion for the quarter. KKR & Co. Inc. had a net margin of 13.94% and a return on equity of 5.42%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that KKR & Co. Inc. will post 5.46 earnings per share for the current year.

KKR & Co. Inc. declared that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Tuesday, May 5th that authorizes the company to buyback $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the asset manager to purchase up to 0.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

KKR & Co. Inc. Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.195 per share. This is a boost from KKR & Co. Inc.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.19. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 15th. This represents a $0.78 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.8%. KKR & Co. Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is currently 26.53%.

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.