Analyzing Sound Point Meridian Capital (NYSE:SPMC) and KKR & Co. Inc. (NYSE:KKR)

KKR & Co. Inc. (NYSE:KKR) and Sound Point Meridian Capital (NYSE:SPMC) are both finance companies, but which is the superior business? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, analyst recommendations, earnings, valuation, profitability, risk and dividends.

Profitability

This table compares KKR & Co. Inc. and Sound Point Meridian Capital’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
KKR & Co. Inc.	11.97%	5.77%	1.01%
Sound Point Meridian Capital	N/A	N/A	N/A

Dividends

KKR & Co. Inc. pays an annual dividend of $0.74 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.7%. Sound Point Meridian Capital pays an annual dividend of $3.00 per share and has a dividend yield of 23.2%. KKR & Co. Inc. pays out 31.6% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Sound Point Meridian Capital pays out 1,500.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. KKR & Co. Inc. has raised its dividend for 5 consecutive years.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares KKR & Co. Inc. and Sound Point Meridian Capital”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
KKR & Co. Inc.	$19.46 billion	4.92	$2.37 billion	$2.34	45.88
Sound Point Meridian Capital	N/A	N/A	N/A	$0.20	64.59

KKR & Co. Inc. has higher revenue and earnings than Sound Point Meridian Capital. KKR & Co. Inc. is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Sound Point Meridian Capital, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Volatility and Risk

KKR & Co. Inc. has a beta of 1.99, meaning that its stock price is 99% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Sound Point Meridian Capital has a beta of 0.32, meaning that its stock price is 68% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

76.3% of KKR & Co. Inc. shares are held by institutional investors. 39.3% of KKR & Co. Inc. shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.9% of Sound Point Meridian Capital shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current ratings and price targets for KKR & Co. Inc. and Sound Point Meridian Capital, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
KKR & Co. Inc.	0	4	10	2	2.88
Sound Point Meridian Capital	0	2	2	0	2.50

KKR & Co. Inc. currently has a consensus price target of $156.57, suggesting a potential upside of 45.82%. Sound Point Meridian Capital has a consensus price target of $18.90, suggesting a potential upside of 46.31%. Given Sound Point Meridian Capital’s higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Sound Point Meridian Capital is more favorable than KKR & Co. Inc..

Summary

KKR & Co. Inc. beats Sound Point Meridian Capital on 13 of the 16 factors compared between the two stocks.

About KKR & Co. Inc.

KKR & Co., Inc. operates as an investment firm. It offers alternative asset management as well as capital markets and insurance solutions. The firm’s business segments include Asset Management and Insurance Business. The Asset Management segment engages in providing private equity, real assets, credit and liquid strategies, capital markets, and principal activities. The Insurance Business segment offers retirement, life insurance and reinsurance solutions to clients across individual and institutional markets. The company was founded by Henry Kravis, George R. Roberts, and Jerome Kholberg on May 1, 1976 and is headquartered in New York, NY.

About Sound Point Meridian Capital

Sound Point Meridian Capital Inc. is an externally managed, non-diversified closed-end management investment company. Its investment objective is to generate high current income, with a secondary objective to generate capital appreciation, by investing primarily in third-party collateralized loan obligation equity and mezzanine tranches. Sound Point Meridian Capital Inc. is based in NEW YORK.