Kemper (NYSE:KMPR) Cut to Strong Sell at Zacks Research

Zacks Research cut shares of Kemper (NYSE:KMPR) from a hold rating to a strong sell rating in a research report report published on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other brokerages have also recently weighed in on KMPR. Piper Sandler dropped their price objective on shares of Kemper from $50.00 to $35.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, November 6th. Wall Street Zen cut Kemper from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, February 14th. Citizens Jmp cut Kemper from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Kemper from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Finally, Citigroup lowered Kemper to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Kemper has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $56.50.

Kemper Trading Up 0.8%

Shares of KMPR stock opened at $31.50 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $1.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.38 and a beta of 1.14. The company has a quick ratio of 0.18, a current ratio of 0.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. Kemper has a fifty-two week low of $30.05 and a fifty-two week high of $69.83. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $37.40 and a 200-day simple moving average of $43.66.

Kemper (NYSE:KMPR) last released 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). Kemper had a return on equity of 8.02% and a net margin of 2.99%.The business had revenue of $1.13 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.22 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.78 earnings per share. Kemper’s quarterly revenue was down 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that Kemper will post 6.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kemper Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 3rd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.32 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 17th. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.1%. Kemper’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 58.45%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Kemper

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Huntington National Bank lifted its stake in Kemper by 187.1% in the fourth quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 646 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 421 shares during the last quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. increased its stake in shares of Kemper by 1,098.0% during the 3rd quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 587 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 538 shares during the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC bought a new position in shares of Kemper during the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp lifted its stake in shares of Kemper by 73.5% in the 3rd quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 656 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 278 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Kemper in the 3rd quarter valued at $36,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.23% of the company’s stock.

About Kemper

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.