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 report report published on Tuesday morning,Zacks.com reports.

Several other equities research analysts also recently commented on KMPR. JMP Securities lowered their target price 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. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “underweight” rating and issued a $50.00 target price (down previously from $75.00) on shares of Kemper in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Kemper in a research report on Wednesday. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Kemper from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 9th. Finally, Cowen reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Kemper in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $72.75.

Kemper Stock Down 1.0%

Shares of NYSE:KMPR opened at $49.33 on Tuesday. Kemper has a 52 week low of $45.02 and a 52 week high of $73.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 0.21 and a current ratio of 0.21. The company has a market capitalization of $3.09 billion, a PE ratio of 9.29 and a beta of 1.25. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $52.83 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $58.87.

Kemper (NYSE:KMPR) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The insurance provider reported $1.30 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.52 by ($0.22). Kemper had a net margin of 7.18% and a return on equity of 14.39%. The firm had revenue of $1.23 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.23 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.42 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Kemper will post 6.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Kemper Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Investors of record on Monday, August 18th were given a $0.32 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 18th. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.6%. Kemper’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 24.11%.

Kemper declared that its board has authorized a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, August 5th that allows the company to repurchase $500.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the insurance provider to reacquire up to 12.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Kemper news, Director Jason N. Gorevic bought 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 7th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $49.14 per share, with a total value of $98,280.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 22,072 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,084,618.08. This trade represents a 9.96% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Gerald Laderman bought 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 7th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $49.37 per share, with a total value of $148,110.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 24,635 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,216,229.95. This represents a 13.87% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 6.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Kemper

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in Kemper by 87.0% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,337 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $89,000 after acquiring an additional 622 shares during the last quarter. Jump Financial LLC lifted its stake in Kemper by 59.7% in the first quarter. Jump Financial LLC now owns 19,400 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,297,000 after acquiring an additional 7,255 shares during the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Kemper by 74.7% during the 1st quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 35,334 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $2,362,000 after buying an additional 15,106 shares during the last quarter. M&T Bank Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Kemper during the 1st quarter worth about $301,000. Finally, KBC Group NV lifted its stake in shares of Kemper by 14.3% during the 1st quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,948 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $197,000 after buying an additional 369 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.23% of the company’s stock.

Kemper Company 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.