Citi Affirms Buy Rating, $22 PT On KKR

Citi reports that it sees KKR & Co. L.P.'s (NYSE: KKR) upcoming 3/15 Investor Day in NY at the Pierre Hotel as a “valuation catalyst and affirm our Buy investment opinion, $22 sum-of-the-parts 12-month price target built on potentially conservative inputs and still consider the stock our top idea.”

“While the stock has led the Group higher YTD, we still see ample valuation upside, as the shares trade at just 4.1x our 2011 implied performance fee estimate and 3.4x our 2012 forecast when adjusting for Fee Related Earnings and B/S impacts, or in-line to below peers despite equally attractive competitive positioning and/or more favorable valuation catalysts,” Citi writes.

“The shares may not enjoy the similar ~30% rise over the subsequent three months as BX posted following its September 2010 Investor Day, yet we see strong follow though in the stock as the market comes to better appreciate the efficacy of the model.”

KKR & Co. closed Friday at $17.41.