Kemper Co. (NYSE:KMPR) Shares Purchased by Handelsbanken Fonder AB

Handelsbanken Fonder AB lifted its stake in Kemper Co. (NYSE:KMPR) by 13.2% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 11,973 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,400 shares during the period. Handelsbanken Fonder AB’s holdings in Kemper were worth $795,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Jane Street Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Kemper by 565.8% in the 3rd quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 41,094 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $2,517,000 after purchasing an additional 34,922 shares during the period. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP boosted its position in shares of Kemper by 81.1% in the 3rd 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 period. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd boosted its position in shares of Kemper by 244.2% in the 3rd quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd now owns 18,853 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,155,000 after purchasing an additional 13,376 shares during the period. Verition Fund Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Kemper by 7.0% in the 3rd quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 108,355 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $6,637,000 after purchasing an additional 7,127 shares during the period. Finally, Phocas Financial Corp. boosted its position in shares of Kemper by 37.4% in the 3rd quarter. Phocas Financial Corp. now owns 168,283 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $10,307,000 after purchasing an additional 45,796 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.23% of the company’s stock.

Kemper Stock Up 1.9 %

KMPR opened at $67.59 on Friday. Kemper Co. has a fifty-two week low of $54.11 and a fifty-two week high of $73.01. The business has a 50-day moving average of $66.03 and a 200-day moving average of $64.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 0.27 and a quick ratio of 0.27. The company has a market capitalization of $4.32 billion, a PE ratio of 13.77 and a beta of 0.88.

Kemper (NYSE:KMPR) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The insurance provider reported $1.78 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.38 by $0.40. Kemper had a return on equity of 14.11% and a net margin of 6.85%. Equities research analysts forecast that Kemper Co. will post 6.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kemper Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be paid a dividend of $0.32 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 18th. This is an increase from Kemper’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.89%. Kemper’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 26.07%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently weighed in on KMPR. Piper Sandler increased their price target on Kemper from $83.00 to $86.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. StockNews.com upgraded Kemper from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Raymond James raised their price objective on Kemper from $75.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 26th. Finally, TD Cowen raised their price objective on Kemper from $72.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $81.60.

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.