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

Kemper Corporation (NYSE:KMPR) has earned an average rating of “Reduce” from the eight ratings firms that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, three have issued a hold recommendation and one has given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month target price among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $56.50.

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. Weiss Ratings cut Kemper from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Citizens Jmp lowered Kemper from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Kemper from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, February 14th. Citigroup lowered shares of Kemper to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Finally, UBS Group set a $56.00 target price on shares of Kemper in a research report on Monday, February 9th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Kemper

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in KMPR. Huntington National Bank raised its stake in Kemper by 187.1% in the 4th quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 646 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 421 shares during the last quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. grew its stake in Kemper by 1,098.0% during the 3rd quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 587 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 538 shares during the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC acquired a new position in shares of Kemper in the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its holdings in shares of Kemper by 73.5% in the third 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 period. Finally, Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Kemper in the third quarter worth about $36,000. 86.23% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Kemper Price Performance

NYSE KMPR opened at $29.40 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $34.31 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $41.24. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.42 and a beta of 1.16. 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 has a 12-month low of $28.41 and a 12-month high of $69.25.

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). Kemper had a net margin of 2.99% and a return on equity of 8.02%. The business had revenue of $1.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.22 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.78 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Kemper will post 6.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kemper Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 3rd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 17th were paid a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.4%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 17th. Kemper’s payout ratio is presently 58.45%.

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.