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

Kemper (NYSE:KMPR) was downgraded by research analysts at Zacks Research from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report released on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other research analysts also recently weighed in on KMPR. Citigroup downgraded Kemper to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. William Blair cut shares of Kemper from a “market perform” rating to an “underperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 18th. Citizens Jmp lowered shares of Kemper from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Piper Sandler cut their target price 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. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Kemper from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a report on Friday, February 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $56.50.

Kemper Trading Up 1.4%

Shares of Kemper stock opened at $31.21 on Monday. Kemper has a fifty-two week low of $30.05 and a fifty-two week high of $69.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 0.18 and a current ratio of 0.18. The company has a market capitalization of $1.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.25 and a beta of 1.14. The company has a fifty day moving average of $37.59 and a 200 day moving average of $43.74.

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Kemper

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Kemper by 40.1% in the 3rd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 2,780,270 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $143,323,000 after buying an additional 795,131 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in shares of Kemper by 12.9% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,776,543 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $143,131,000 after buying an additional 316,216 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of Kemper by 6.0% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,472,276 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $100,227,000 after acquiring an additional 140,539 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its position in Kemper by 0.5% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,212,025 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $142,764,000 after acquiring an additional 10,213 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Boston Partners increased its stake in Kemper by 19.3% during the second quarter. Boston Partners now owns 1,508,352 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $97,026,000 after acquiring an additional 244,391 shares during the last quarter. 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.