Kemper Co. (NYSE:KMPR) Receives Consensus Rating of “Buy” from Brokerages

Kemper Co. (NYSE:KMPR) has received an average recommendation of “Buy” from the five research firms that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $79.00.

Several analysts have recently issued reports on KMPR shares. TD Cowen lifted their target price on shares of Kemper from $72.00 to $84.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. JMP Securities reiterated a “market outperform” rating and set a $85.00 price objective on shares of Kemper in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Kemper from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Kemper

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Jane Street Group LLC increased its stake 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 worth $2,517,000 after acquiring an additional 34,922 shares during the last quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd grew its holdings in shares of Kemper by 244.2% in the third 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. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP increased its position in Kemper by 81.1% during the third quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP now owns 838,085 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $51,333,000 after purchasing an additional 375,324 shares during the last quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC raised its stake in Kemper by 7.0% during the third quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 108,355 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $6,637,000 after purchasing an additional 7,127 shares during the period. Finally, Natixis Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Kemper by 50.6% in the 2nd quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 68,604 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $4,070,000 after purchasing an additional 23,043 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.23% of the company’s stock.

Kemper Stock Performance

NYSE KMPR opened at $65.81 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.67 and a beta of 0.88. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $67.24 and a 200 day moving average of $63.12. The company has a current ratio of 0.22, a quick ratio of 0.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. Kemper has a twelve month low of $47.92 and a twelve month high of $73.01.

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

Kemper Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 4th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 18th were paid a $0.31 dividend. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.88%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 18th. Kemper’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 29.52%.

About Kemper

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.