Kemper Co. (NYSE:KMPR) Shares Acquired by Sterling Capital Management LLC

Sterling Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Kemper Co. (NYSE:KMPR) by 52.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 3,640 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,246 shares during the quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Kemper were worth $242,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of KMPR. Kennedy Capital Management LLC grew its position in Kemper by 320.5% during the 4th quarter. Kennedy Capital Management LLC now owns 190,156 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $12,634,000 after purchasing an additional 144,934 shares during the last quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina grew its holdings in shares of Kemper by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 26,630 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,769,000 after buying an additional 160 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Kemper in the 4th quarter valued at about $23,325,000. Bank of Nova Scotia purchased a new stake in Kemper during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,863,000. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC raised its stake in Kemper by 52.1% during the 4th quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 20,228 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,335,000 after acquiring an additional 6,929 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.23% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on KMPR. Raymond James boosted their target price on Kemper from $75.00 to $82.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 26th. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on shares of Kemper from $83.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Kemper from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Kemper has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $81.60.

Kemper Trading Down 1.3 %

NYSE:KMPR opened at $56.77 on Monday. Kemper Co. has a 1 year low of $53.57 and a 1 year high of $73.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a current ratio of 0.27. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $64.28 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $65.53. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.56 and a beta of 1.05.

Kemper (NYSE:KMPR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The insurance provider reported $1.78 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.38 by $0.40. Kemper had a net margin of 6.85% and a return on equity of 14.11%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Kemper Co. will post 6.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kemper Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th were issued a $0.32 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.25%. This is a boost from Kemper’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. Kemper’s dividend payout ratio is currently 26.07%.

Kemper 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.