Geode Capital Management LLC Acquires 9,412 Shares of Kemper Co. (NYSE:KMPR)

Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Kemper Co. (NYSE:KMPR) by 0.9% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 1,010,881 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 9,412 shares during the quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Kemper were worth $61,933,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in KMPR. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in Kemper by 1.3% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,429,101 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $144,115,000 after acquiring an additional 30,882 shares during the period. State Street Corp raised its holdings in shares of Kemper by 3.9% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,136,621 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $130,868,000 after purchasing an additional 79,622 shares during the period. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP lifted its stake in Kemper by 81.1% in the third quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP now owns 838,085 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $51,333,000 after purchasing an additional 375,324 shares during the last quarter. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. grew its holdings in Kemper by 2.8% during the second quarter. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. now owns 741,775 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $44,010,000 after purchasing an additional 19,982 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its position in Kemper by 1.5% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 568,704 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $33,741,000 after buying an additional 8,395 shares during the last quarter. 86.23% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Kemper Stock Performance

Shares of KMPR opened at $65.06 on Friday. Kemper Co. has a 52-week low of $47.12 and a 52-week high of $73.01. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $67.07 and its 200 day simple moving average is $62.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 0.22 and a current ratio of 0.22. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.49 and a beta of 0.88.

Kemper (NYSE:KMPR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The insurance provider reported $1.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.34 by $0.28. The firm had revenue of $1.18 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.07 billion. Kemper had a net margin of 5.86% and a return on equity of 12.03%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted ($0.44) earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Kemper Co. will post 5.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kemper Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 4th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 18th were given a dividend of $0.31 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 18th. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.91%. Kemper’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 29.52%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. TD Cowen upped their price target on Kemper from $72.00 to $84.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Kemper from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, JMP Securities reiterated a “market outperform” rating and issued a $85.00 target price on shares of Kemper in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $79.00.

Kemper Company Profile

Kemper Corporation, a diversified insurance holding company, engages in the provision of insurance products to individuals and businesses in the United States. The company operates through three segments: Specialty Property & Casualty Insurance, Preferred Property & Casualty Insurance, and Life & Health Insurance.