D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. Cuts Stock Holdings in Kemper Co. (NYSE:KMPR)

D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. lowered its stake in Kemper Co. (NYSE:KMPR) by 88.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 8,001 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 63,753 shares during the quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc.’s holdings in Kemper were worth $532,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Merit Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Kemper in the fourth quarter worth about $212,000. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its holdings in shares of Kemper by 172.7% during the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 6,209 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $413,000 after acquiring an additional 3,932 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its position in shares of Kemper by 44.6% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 3,220 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $197,000 after acquiring an additional 993 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV boosted its position in shares of Kemper by 25.8% during the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,579 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $171,000 after acquiring an additional 529 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Kemper by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 8,985 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $597,000 after purchasing an additional 190 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.23% of the company’s stock.

Kemper Stock Performance

NYSE KMPR opened at $61.87 on Monday. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $61.81 and its 200-day moving average price is $65.32. Kemper Co. has a fifty-two week low of $53.57 and a fifty-two week high of $73.01. The company has a market cap of $3.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.60 and a beta of 1.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a current ratio of 0.27.

Kemper (NYSE:KMPR) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The insurance provider reported $1.65 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.48 by $0.17. The business had revenue of $1.19 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.21 billion. Kemper had a net margin of 6.85% and a return on equity of 14.11%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.07 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Kemper Co. will post 6.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Kemper Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Investors of record on Monday, May 19th will be issued a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.07%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 19th. Kemper’s payout ratio is currently 23.93%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Piper Sandler decreased their price target on shares of Kemper from $86.00 to $75.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Kemper presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $79.40.

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.