Boston Partners Decreases Stock Position in Kemper Corporation $KMPR

Boston Partners decreased its holdings in shares of Kemper Corporation (NYSE:KMPR) by 2.7% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 1,230,163 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 33,798 shares during the period. Boston Partners’ holdings in Kemper were worth $79,071,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of KMPR. Federated Hermes Inc. boosted its stake in Kemper by 4.8% in the 1st quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 5,688 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $380,000 after purchasing an additional 263 shares in the last quarter. CX Institutional raised its holdings in shares of Kemper by 50.3% in the second quarter. CX Institutional now owns 861 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $56,000 after buying an additional 288 shares during the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP raised its holdings in shares of Kemper by 39.1% in the second quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,228 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $79,000 after buying an additional 345 shares during the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Kemper by 27.0% during the first quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 1,737 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $115,000 after buying an additional 369 shares during the period. Finally, Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings in shares of Kemper by 1.3% during the second quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 29,898 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,901,000 after buying an additional 382 shares during the last quarter. 86.23% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on KMPR shares. Wall Street Zen lowered Kemper from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 9th. Cowen reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Kemper in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Raymond James Financial downgraded Kemper from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and set a $60.00 target price for the company. in a report on Wednesday, October 15th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Kemper from a “hold (c)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research report on Friday, November 7th. Finally, JMP Securities decreased their price objective on shares of Kemper from $85.00 to $75.00 and set a “market outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $63.50.

Kemper Trading Down 1.5%

Kemper stock opened at $36.85 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $2.16 billion, a PE ratio of 6.94 and a beta of 1.23. Kemper Corporation has a 12 month low of $33.91 and a 12 month high of $73.01. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $48.49 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $56.20. The company has a current ratio of 0.21, a quick ratio of 0.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32.

Kemper (NYSE:KMPR) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The insurance provider reported $0.33 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.33 by ($1.00). Kemper had a net margin of 7.18% and a return on equity of 14.39%. The firm had revenue of $1.24 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.22 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.62 earnings per share. Kemper’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Kemper Corporation will post 6.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Kemper Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 3rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 17th will be given a dividend of $0.32 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 17th. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.5%. Kemper’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 33.42%.

Kemper declared that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Tuesday, August 5th that authorizes the company to buyback $500.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the insurance provider to purchase up to 12.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Kemper Profile

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.