Kemper (NYSE:KMPR) Cut to Hold at StockNews.com

StockNews.com downgraded shares of Kemper (NYSE:KMPR) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report published on Thursday morning.

KMPR has been the topic of several other research reports. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and issued a $85.00 price target on shares of Kemper in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. TD Cowen raised their target price on Kemper from $72.00 to $84.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $80.40.

Kemper Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of Kemper stock opened at $66.05 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $4.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.73 and a beta of 0.88. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $67.32 and its 200 day moving average is $63.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 0.22 and a quick ratio of 0.22. Kemper has a one year low of $48.10 and a one year high of $73.01.

Kemper (NYSE:KMPR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The insurance provider reported $1.62 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.34 by $0.28. Kemper had a net margin of 5.86% and a return on equity of 12.03%. The firm had revenue of $1.18 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.07 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned ($0.44) earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 1.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Kemper will post 5.36 EPS for the current year.

Kemper Dividend Announcement

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP increased its position 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 worth $51,333,000 after buying an additional 375,324 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Kemper by 1,336.4% during the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 340,948 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $20,228,000 after acquiring an additional 317,212 shares during the period. Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Kemper by 815.0% during the 2nd quarter. Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC now owns 301,524 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $17,889,000 after acquiring an additional 268,569 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Kemper by 254.1% in the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 349,822 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $20,398,000 after acquiring an additional 251,036 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of Montreal Can raised its stake in Kemper by 1,070.6% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 140,189 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $8,526,000 after acquiring an additional 128,213 shares during the period. 86.23% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.