Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC Raises Stake in Kemper Corporation $KMPR

Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Kemper Corporation (NYSE:KMPR) by 38.2% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 4,564 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,261 shares during the period. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings in Kemper were worth $295,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Bayforest Capital Ltd purchased a new position in Kemper during the 1st quarter valued at about $44,000. IFP Advisors Inc lifted its position in Kemper by 651.6% during the 2nd quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 699 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $45,000 after acquiring an additional 606 shares during the period. CX Institutional lifted its position in Kemper by 50.3% during the 2nd quarter. CX Institutional now owns 861 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $56,000 after acquiring an additional 288 shares during the period. Allworth Financial LP lifted its position in Kemper by 68.8% during the 1st quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 883 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $59,000 after acquiring an additional 360 shares during the period. Finally, Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd bought a new stake in Kemper during the 1st quarter valued at about $70,000. 86.23% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Kemper Stock Performance

Shares of KMPR stock opened at $48.61 on Thursday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $51.81 and a 200-day moving average price of $57.78. Kemper Corporation has a 52 week low of $45.02 and a 52 week high of $73.01. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.05 billion, a PE ratio of 9.15 and a beta of 1.25. The company has a quick ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 0.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32.

Kemper (NYSE:KMPR) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 5th. The insurance provider reported $1.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.52 by ($0.22). The business had revenue of $1.23 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.23 billion. Kemper had a return on equity of 14.39% and a net margin of 7.18%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.42 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Kemper Corporation will post 6.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Kemper declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, August 5th that permits the company to buyback $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the insurance provider to reacquire up to 12.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Kemper Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Investors of record on Monday, August 18th were issued a $0.32 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 18th. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.6%. Kemper’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 24.11%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Kemper news, Director Jason N. Gorevic acquired 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 7th. The shares were bought at an average price of $49.14 per share, with a total value of $98,280.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 22,072 shares in the company, valued at $1,084,618.08. This represents a 9.96% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Gerald Laderman acquired 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 7th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $49.37 per share, for a total transaction of $148,110.00. Following the acquisition, the director owned 24,635 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,216,229.95. The trade was a 13.87% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 6.20% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have weighed in on KMPR. Raymond James Financial lowered shares of Kemper from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and set a $60.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Wednesday, October 15th. Cowen restated a “buy” rating on shares of Kemper in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Kemper from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 7th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Kemper in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, JMP Securities reduced their price objective on shares of Kemper from $85.00 to $75.00 and set a “market outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Kemper presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $67.25.

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.