Kemper Co. (NYSE:KMPR) Receives Average Recommendation of “Buy” from Analysts

Shares of Kemper Co. (NYSE:KMPR) have earned a consensus rating of “Buy” from the five research firms that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Four analysts have rated the stock with a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month price objective among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $80.40.

A number of brokerages have recently commented on KMPR. StockNews.com raised shares of Kemper from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Raymond James raised their price target on shares of Kemper from $75.00 to $82.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 26th. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and set a $85.00 price target on shares of Kemper in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Finally, TD Cowen raised their price target on shares of Kemper from $72.00 to $84.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 19th.

Kemper Stock Performance

Shares of KMPR stock opened at $65.26 on Friday. Kemper has a one year low of $53.46 and a one year high of $73.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 0.22 and a current ratio of 0.22. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $67.75 and a 200 day moving average price of $63.93. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.54 and a beta of 0.88.

Kemper (NYSE:KMPR) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The insurance provider reported $1.62 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.34 by $0.28. Kemper had a net margin of 5.86% and a return on equity of 12.03%. The business had revenue of $1.18 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.07 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted ($0.44) EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Kemper will post 5.36 EPS for the current year.

Kemper Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 4th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 18th were issued a dividend of $0.31 per share. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.90%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 18th. Kemper’s dividend payout ratio is currently 29.52%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its holdings in Kemper by 172.7% during the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 6,209 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $413,000 after acquiring an additional 3,932 shares in the last quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in Kemper during the 4th quarter worth $212,000. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Kemper by 20.3% during the 4th quarter. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC now owns 5,426 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $361,000 after acquiring an additional 914 shares in the last quarter. Clean Yield Group acquired a new position in Kemper during the 4th quarter worth $45,000. Finally, Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in Kemper by 19.4% during the 4th quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 68,073 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $4,523,000 after acquiring an additional 11,076 shares in the last quarter. 86.23% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Kemper

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.