Kemper Corporation (NYSE:KMPR) Receives $56.50 Average Target Price from Brokerages

Kemper Corporation (NYSE:KMPR) has been given a consensus recommendation of “Reduce” by the eight brokerages that are covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $56.50.

Several equities research analysts have commented on KMPR shares. Citigroup lowered shares of Kemper to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. UBS Group set a $56.00 target price on Kemper in a report on Monday, February 9th. Weiss Ratings downgraded Kemper from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 17th. Zacks Research cut Kemper from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Monday, February 23rd. Finally, William Blair downgraded Kemper from a “market perform” rating to an “underperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 18th.

Kemper Stock Performance

KMPR opened at $29.64 on Friday. Kemper has a 1-year low of $28.41 and a 1-year high of $69.25. The company has a market cap of $1.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.53 and a beta of 1.16. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $34.10 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $40.89. The company has a current ratio of 0.18, a quick ratio of 0.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35.

Kemper (NYSE:KMPR) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The insurance provider reported $0.25 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.85 by ($0.60). Kemper had a net margin of 2.99% and a return on equity of 8.02%. The company had revenue of $1.13 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.22 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.78 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that Kemper will post 6.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kemper Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 3rd. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 17th were given a dividend of $0.32 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 17th. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.3%. Kemper’s dividend payout ratio is presently 58.45%.

Institutional Trading of Kemper

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in KMPR. WINTON GROUP Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Kemper in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $5,020,000. Squarepoint Ops LLC grew its holdings in Kemper by 822.6% during the second quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 41,102 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $2,653,000 after purchasing an additional 36,647 shares during the period. Boston Partners increased its position in Kemper by 19.3% in the second quarter. Boston Partners now owns 1,508,352 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $97,026,000 after buying an additional 244,391 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP increased its position in Kemper by 44.1% in the third quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 736,183 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $37,950,000 after buying an additional 225,476 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CWM LLC raised its stake in shares of Kemper by 119.4% in the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 66,361 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $3,421,000 after buying an additional 36,118 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 86.23% of the company’s stock.

Kemper Company Profile

Kemper Corporation (NYSE:KMPR) is a diversified insurance holding company headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. Formed through the rebranding of Unitrin in 2010, Kemper has established a nationwide presence by offering a broad array of property and casualty insurance products. The company distributes its products through independent agents, brokers and direct-to-consumer channels, serving both individual policyholders and commercial clients.

The personal insurance segment provides coverage for automobiles, homeowners, renters and umbrella lines, while the commercial business focuses on liability, workers’ compensation and specialty property solutions tailored to small and mid-sized enterprises.