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

Shares of Kemper Corporation (NYSE:KMPR) have earned an average rating of “Reduce” from the eight ratings firms that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, five have assigned a hold recommendation and one has given a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $56.50.

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Citigroup lowered shares of Kemper to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Weiss Ratings raised Kemper from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a report on Friday, February 13th. UBS Group set a $56.00 price objective on Kemper in a research note on Monday, February 9th. Piper Sandler dropped their price objective on Kemper from $50.00 to $35.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, November 6th. Finally, William Blair downgraded Kemper from a “market perform” rating to an “underperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 18th.

Institutional Trading of Kemper

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Kemper by 40.1% in the third 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 during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings 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 worth $143,131,000 after acquiring an additional 316,216 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position 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 worth $100,227,000 after acquiring an additional 140,539 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its stake in shares of Kemper by 0.5% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,212,025 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $142,764,000 after purchasing an additional 10,213 shares during the period. Finally, Boston Partners lifted its stake in shares of Kemper by 19.3% in the 2nd quarter. Boston Partners now owns 1,508,352 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $97,026,000 after purchasing an additional 244,391 shares during the period. 86.23% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Kemper Price Performance

KMPR opened at $32.30 on Monday. Kemper has a 1 year low of $30.05 and a 1 year high of $69.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 0.18 and a quick ratio of 0.18. The company has a market capitalization of $1.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.75 and a beta of 1.14. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $37.99 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $44.02.

Kemper (NYSE:KMPR) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The insurance provider reported $0.25 earnings per share (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 the consensus estimate of $1.22 billion. Kemper had a net margin of 2.99% and a return on equity of 8.02%. The business’s revenue was down 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.78 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Kemper will post 6.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kemper Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 3rd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 17th will be given a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.0%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 17th. Kemper’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.