Kemper (NYSE:KMPR) Upgraded at Zacks Research

Zacks Research upgraded shares of Kemper (NYSE:KMPR) from a strong sell rating to a hold rating in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday morning,Zacks.com reports.

KMPR has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Citigroup cut Kemper to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. William Blair cut Kemper from a “market perform” rating to an “underperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 18th. Citizens Jmp downgraded Kemper from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Kemper from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 17th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Kemper from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 14th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $54.50.

Kemper Price Performance

Shares of NYSE KMPR opened at $32.85 on Tuesday. Kemper has a 1 year low of $28.41 and a 1 year high of $66.13. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.00 and a beta of 1.14. The company’s 50-day moving average is $31.37 and its 200 day moving average is $38.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 0.18 and a quick ratio of 0.18.

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

Kemper Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 3rd. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 17th were paid a $0.32 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 17th. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.9%. Kemper’s dividend payout ratio is presently 58.45%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. grew its stake in shares of Kemper by 616.7% in the fourth quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 946 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 814 shares during the last quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Kemper in the 4th quarter worth about $1,724,000. Mengis Capital Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Kemper by 59.0% in the 4th quarter. Mengis Capital Management Inc. now owns 13,813 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $560,000 after purchasing an additional 5,125 shares during the last quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd boosted its stake in Kemper by 24.6% in the 4th quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 1,969 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $80,000 after purchasing an additional 389 shares in the last quarter. Finally, XTX Topco Ltd boosted its stake in Kemper by 61.4% in the 4th quarter. XTX Topco Ltd now owns 65,211 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $2,644,000 after purchasing an additional 24,802 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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.