Kemper Co. Announces Quarterly Dividend of $0.31 (NYSE:KMPR)

Kemper Co. (NYSE:KMPR – Get Rating) announced a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, May 4th, Zacks reports. Investors of record on Monday, May 16th will be paid a dividend of 0.31 per share by the insurance provider on Tuesday, May 31st. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.49%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 13th.

Kemper has increased its dividend payment by an average of 8.9% per year over the last three years and has increased its dividend annually for the last 3 consecutive years. Kemper has a payout ratio of 30.5% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities analysts expect Kemper to earn $4.17 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.24 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 29.7%.

Shares of KMPR stock opened at $49.81 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $53.21 and a 200 day moving average of $56.23. Kemper has a 52 week low of $45.64 and a 52 week high of $80.78. The company has a quick ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 0.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41.

Kemper (NYSE:KMPR – Get Rating) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 2nd. The insurance provider reported ($0.94) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.17) by $0.23. Kemper had a negative return on equity of 9.23% and a negative net margin of 5.79%. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.31 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Kemper will post -0.54 EPS for the current year.

In other news, Director George N. Cochran acquired 1,000 shares of Kemper stock in a transaction on Monday, February 14th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $50.00 per share, for a total transaction of $50,000.00. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Kemper by 5.6% in the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 138,382 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $8,135,000 after acquiring an additional 7,399 shares during the period. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio grew its stake in shares of Kemper by 23.6% in the fourth quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 130,848 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $7,693,000 after acquiring an additional 24,971 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley grew its stake in shares of Kemper by 29.7% in the second quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 86,168 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $6,368,000 after acquiring an additional 19,707 shares during the period. Comerica Bank grew its stake in shares of Kemper by 12.6% in the fourth quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 53,527 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $3,236,000 after acquiring an additional 5,985 shares during the period. Finally, Amalgamated Bank grew its stake in shares of Kemper by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 42,954 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $2,525,000 after acquiring an additional 234 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.84% of the company’s stock.

KMPR has been the subject of a number of research reports. StockNews.com initiated coverage on Kemper in a report on Thursday, March 31st. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. Zacks Investment Research downgraded Kemper from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday. Credit Suisse Group initiated coverage on Kemper in a report on Thursday, April 28th. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $44.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Raymond James downgraded Kemper from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have given a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $60.50.

About Kemper (Get Rating)

Kemper Corporation, a diversified insurance holding company, provides property and casualty, and life and health insurance in the United States. The company operates through three segments: Specialty Property & Casualty Insurance, Preferred Property & Casualty Insurance, and Life & Health Insurance.

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