KKR & Co. Inc. (NYSE:KKR) Reaches New 12-Month High – Still a Buy?

KKR & Co. Inc. (NYSE:KKR)’s stock price reached a new 52-week high on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $157.06 and last traded at $156.96, with a volume of 1688653 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $152.18.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Redburn Atlantic initiated coverage on KKR & Co. Inc. in a research report on Tuesday, August 27th. They set a “buy” rating and a $153.00 price target on the stock. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on KKR & Co. Inc. from $107.00 to $143.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Argus raised KKR & Co. Inc. to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on KKR & Co. Inc. from $139.00 to $152.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, JMP Securities upped their target price on KKR & Co. Inc. from $150.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $154.14.

KKR & Co. Inc. Stock Performance

The firm has a 50 day moving average of $139.68 and a two-hundred day moving average of $121.21. The stock has a market cap of $140.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 48.20, a P/E/G ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.07 and a current ratio of 0.07.

KKR & Co. Inc. (NYSE:KKR) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The asset manager reported $1.38 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.03 by $0.35. KKR & Co. Inc. had a return on equity of 5.77% and a net margin of 13.21%. The firm had revenue of $4.79 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.23 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.73 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that KKR & Co. Inc. will post 4.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

KKR & Co. Inc. Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, November 19th. Investors of record on Monday, November 4th were paid a dividend of $0.175 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 4th. This represents a $0.70 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.44%. KKR & Co. Inc.’s payout ratio is 21.28%.

Insider Activity at KKR & Co. Inc.

In other news, major shareholder Kkr Group Partnership L.P. purchased 11,619,998 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 11th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $11.13 per share, with a total value of $129,330,577.74. Following the acquisition, the insider now directly owns 92,959,984 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,034,644,621.92. The trade was a 14.29 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, major shareholder Genetic Disorder L.P. Kkr sold 5,800,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.75, for a total value of $149,350,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 25,260,971 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $650,470,003.25. This trade represents a 18.67 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 39.34% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On KKR & Co. Inc.

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of KKR. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of KKR & Co. Inc. by 30.3% in the 1st quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 15,076 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $1,516,000 after buying an additional 3,502 shares in the last quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of KKR & Co. Inc. by 100.7% in the 1st quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 20,055 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $2,017,000 after buying an additional 10,060 shares in the last quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. acquired a new position in shares of KKR & Co. Inc. in the 1st quarter worth approximately $23,189,000. LRI Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of KKR & Co. Inc. in the 1st quarter worth approximately $122,000. Finally, Lazard Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of KKR & Co. Inc. by 118.5% in the 1st quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 13,107 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $1,318,000 after buying an additional 7,107 shares in the last quarter. 76.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

KKR & Co. Inc. Company Profile

KKR & Co Inc is a private equity and real estate investment firm specializing in direct and fund of fund investments. It specializes in acquisitions, leveraged buyouts, management buyouts, credit special situations, growth equity, mature, mezzanine, distressed, turnaround, lower middle market and middle market investments.