Kemper Corporation (NYSE:KMPR) Receives Consensus Rating of “Hold” from Analysts

Kemper Corporation (NYSE:KMPR) has been given a consensus recommendation of “Hold” by the seven brokerages that are covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, one has assigned a hold recommendation and three have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price target among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $63.50.

Several research firms recently issued reports on KMPR. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Kemper from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 9th. Zacks Research cut Kemper from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Friday, November 7th. Piper Sandler decreased their price target on Kemper from $50.00 to $35.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, November 6th. JMP Securities lowered their price target on Kemper from $85.00 to $75.00 and set a “market outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. Finally, Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Kemper in a research note on Thursday, August 7th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Kemper

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Kemper by 7.5% during the first quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 35,263 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $2,357,000 after buying an additional 2,461 shares during the last quarter. M&T Bank Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Kemper during the 1st quarter valued at $301,000. Allworth Financial LP grew its position in Kemper by 68.8% during the 1st quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 883 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $59,000 after acquiring an additional 360 shares during the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC increased its holdings in Kemper by 74.7% in the 1st quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 35,334 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $2,362,000 after purchasing an additional 15,106 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CWM LLC raised its position in Kemper by 63.3% in the first quarter. CWM LLC now owns 30,401 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $2,032,000 after purchasing an additional 11,780 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.23% of the company’s stock.

Kemper Stock Up 1.0%

Shares of NYSE KMPR opened at $38.29 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.21 and a beta of 1.23. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $47.84 and its 200 day moving average is $55.92. Kemper has a 52 week low of $33.91 and a 52 week high of $73.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 0.21 and a current ratio of 0.21.

Kemper (NYSE:KMPR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 5th. The insurance provider reported $0.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.33 by ($1.00). The firm had revenue of $1.24 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.22 billion. Kemper had a return on equity of 14.39% and a net margin of 7.18%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.62 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Kemper will post 6.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kemper Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 3rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 17th will be paid a $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.3%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 17th. Kemper’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 33.42%.

Kemper announced that its board has authorized a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, August 5th that authorizes the company to repurchase $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the insurance provider to repurchase up to 12.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

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.