KKR & Co. Inc. (NYSE:KKR) Upgraded at Royal Bank Of Canada

Royal Bank Of Canada upgraded shares of KKR & Co. Inc. (NYSE:KKR) to a moderate buy rating in a research report report published on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other research firms have also recently weighed in on KKR. HSBC upgraded shares of KKR & Co. Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $144.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 28th. TD Cowen cut shares of KKR & Co. Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $146.00 to $131.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 14th. Weiss Ratings raised KKR & Co. Inc. from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. Wall Street Zen raised KKR & Co. Inc. from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, January 25th. Finally, Oppenheimer lowered their target price on KKR & Co. Inc. from $190.00 to $187.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $152.40.

KKR & Co. Inc. Stock Up 0.9%

NYSE KKR opened at $96.61 on Monday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $118.66 and its 200 day simple moving average is $126.22. KKR & Co. Inc. has a one year low of $86.15 and a one year high of $153.87. The firm has a market cap of $86.11 billion, a PE ratio of 41.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 1.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 0.09 and a quick ratio of 0.09.

KKR & Co. Inc. (NYSE:KKR) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 5th. The asset manager reported $1.12 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.14 by ($0.02). KKR & Co. Inc. had a return on equity of 5.77% and a net margin of 11.97%.The business had revenue of $5.93 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.23 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.32 EPS. KKR & Co. Inc.’s revenue for the quarter was up 76.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that KKR & Co. Inc. will post 5.19 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

KKR & Co. Inc. Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 3rd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 17th will be issued a dividend of $0.185 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 17th. This represents a $0.74 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.8%. KKR & Co. Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 31.62%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Scott C. Nuttall acquired 125,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 17th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $102.66 per share, for a total transaction of $12,832,500.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer owned 15,503,748 shares in the company, valued at $1,591,614,769.68. This trade represents a 0.81% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Matt Cohler bought 43,872 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 17th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $102.90 per share, for a total transaction of $4,514,428.80. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 45,477 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,679,583.30. This trade represents a 2,733.46% increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Insiders have purchased a total of 343,872 shares of company stock valued at $35,367,179 over the last 90 days. 39.34% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of KKR & Co. Inc.

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in KKR & Co. Inc. by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 60,064,587 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $7,657,034,000 after acquiring an additional 821,739 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its position in shares of KKR & Co. Inc. by 4.0% in the 2nd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 19,847,217 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $2,640,275,000 after purchasing an additional 765,457 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in KKR & Co. Inc. by 1.0% during 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 purchasing an additional 146,285 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in KKR & Co. Inc. during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,715,929,000. Finally, First Manhattan CO. LLC. raised its holdings in KKR & Co. Inc. by 0.8% during 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 during the period. Institutional investors own 76.26% of the company’s stock.

Key KKR & Co. Inc. News

Here are the key news stories impacting KKR & Co. Inc. this week:

• Positive Sentiment: RBC Capital initiated coverage with an “outperform” rating and set a $137 price target (roughly a 40% implied upside from current levels), giving the stock a fresh, high-conviction buy signal that can attract momentum and institutional interest. RBC Coverage
• Positive Sentiment: Short interest fell sharply in February (down ~18.5% to ~8.76M shares, ~1.6% of float, ~0.8 days to cover). A meaningful short-covering tailwind can reduce downside pressure and amplify rallies. (Data entry 2/25/2026)
• Positive Sentiment: Unusually large options activity: ~8,120 calls traded (~20% above normal), indicating some investors are placing bullish bets that could signal conviction or hedge positioning ahead of catalysts. (Data entry 2/24/2026)
• Positive Sentiment: Royal Bank of Canada coverage/upgrade was widely reported and echoed by outlets (RBC’s views and the accompanying price target are supporting buying interest). RBC/Benzinga Report
• Neutral Sentiment: KKR’s strategic expansion into education, healthcare and infrastructure is a longer-term positive for growth and fee diversification, but it’s unlikely to change near-term earnings visibility immediately. Expansion Article
• Negative Sentiment: An analyst downgrade (reported by AmericanBankingNews) recently pressured the stock and triggered a large one-day move lower — lingering analyst skepticism can cap rallies until clarity on fundamentals or fees returns. Analyst Downgrade
• Negative Sentiment: FS KKR Capital Corp. (FSK), a KKR-sponsored BDC, reported weaker results and NAV declines, declaring a Q1 distribution but showing realized/unrealized losses and lower NAV — this could weigh on KKR’s fee-related earnings or sentiment around its credit platforms. FSK Results

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.