Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. (KKR) — This global investment company offers a broad range of investment management services to its fund investors and provides capital markets services. This year, it has been an active acquirer of Gardner Denver, several subsidiaries of Warburg Pincus, and others.
I recommended it on Dec. 18 after S&P upgraded KKR to an “A” rating from “A-,” noting that it has “significantly expanded its business and improved its diversification in recent years, while its financial profile is strong, supported by low leverage and ample liquidity.”
On Thursday, the company announced that it would open its first Canadian office in Calgary, the heart of Canada’s oil patch, “to expand its presence in the global energy industry.”
KKR broke from a six-month consolidation in the form of a cup-and-handle in October, jumping from $21 to $24. It then consolidated and broke out again on Dec. 10 at $24. On Jan. 2, it jumped to a new high from a triangle and has made a new closing high each of the past three days.
The stock has a trailing dividend yield of 6.3%. I continue to prefer KKR for a combination of growth and high yield in the capital markets sector.
