KKR & Co. Inc. (NYSE:KKR) Sees Large Growth in Short Interest

KKR & Co. Inc. (NYSE:KKR) was the target of a large increase in short interest in March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totaling 13,167,135 shares, an increase of 21.1% from the March 15th total of 10,874,540 shares. Currently, 1.9% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 6,902,850 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.9 days.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on KKR. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of KKR & Co. Inc. from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. Oppenheimer reduced their price target on shares of KKR & Co. Inc. from $187.00 to $140.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 13th. UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of KKR & Co. Inc. from $168.00 to $125.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Piper Sandler lowered their price objective on shares of 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 shares of 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $138.07.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Timothy R. Barakett purchased 50,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 4th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $94.47 per share, for a total transaction of $4,723,500.00. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 285,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $26,923,950. This represents a 21.28% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Matt Cohler purchased 43,872 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 17th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $102.90 per share, for a total transaction of $4,514,428.80. Following the transaction, the director owned 45,477 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,679,583.30. This trade represents a 2,733.46% increase in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last 90 days, insiders acquired 393,872 shares of company stock valued at $40,090,679. 23.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On KKR & Co. Inc.

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of KKR. Brighton Jones LLC raised its stake in shares of KKR & Co. Inc. by 109.6% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 4,661 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $689,000 after buying an additional 2,437 shares in the last quarter. Bison Wealth LLC purchased a new position in KKR & Co. Inc. in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $218,000. Sivia Capital Partners LLC increased its stake in KKR & Co. Inc. by 13.1% in 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 in the last quarter. United Bank purchased a new position in KKR & Co. Inc. in 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 valued at approximately $4,826,000. 76.26% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

KKR & Co. Inc. Stock Up 1.5%

KKR & Co. Inc. stock opened at $103.53 on Friday. KKR & Co. Inc. has a twelve month low of $82.67 and a twelve month high of $153.87. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $94.37 and a two-hundred day moving average of $113.70. The company has a current ratio of 0.07, a quick ratio of 0.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The stock has a market capitalization of $92.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 44.25, a PEG ratio of 0.85 and a beta of 1.93.

KKR & Co. Inc. Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 3rd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 17th were paid a dividend of $0.185 per share. This represents a $0.74 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 17th. KKR & Co. Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is 31.62%.

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.