Piper Sandler Cuts Kemper (NYSE:KMPR) Price Target to $35.00

Kemper (NYSE:KMPR) had its price target decreased by Piper Sandler from $50.00 to $35.00 in a research note published on Thursday,Benzinga reports. Piper Sandler currently has an underweight rating on the insurance provider’s stock.

A number of other analysts have also recently commented on the stock. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Kemper from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 7th. Raymond James Financial cut shares of Kemper from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and set a $60.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Wednesday, October 15th. Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Kemper in a report on Thursday, August 7th. JMP Securities lowered their price target on Kemper from $85.00 to $75.00 and set a “market outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, August 6th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut Kemper from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 9th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Kemper presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $63.50.

Kemper Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE KMPR opened at $37.07 on Thursday. 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 stock has a 50 day moving average price of $49.50 and a 200 day moving average price of $56.65. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.17 billion, a PE ratio of 6.98 and a beta of 1.23. Kemper has a 52 week low of $33.91 and a 52 week high of $73.01.

Kemper (NYSE:KMPR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 5th. The insurance provider reported $0.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.33 by ($1.00). The company had revenue of $1.24 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.22 billion. Kemper had a return on equity of 14.39% and a net margin of 7.18%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.62 EPS. Analysts predict that Kemper will post 6.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kemper Dividend Announcement

The company 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 $0.32 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 17th. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.5%. Kemper’s dividend payout ratio is presently 33.42%.

Kemper declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback program on Tuesday, August 5th that permits the company to buyback $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the insurance provider to buy up to 12.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Kemper by 7.5% during the first quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 35,263 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $2,357,000 after buying an additional 2,461 shares in the last quarter. M&T Bank Corp bought a new position in Kemper during the first quarter worth about $301,000. Allworth Financial LP boosted its holdings in Kemper by 68.8% in the 1st quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 883 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $59,000 after purchasing an additional 360 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Kemper by 74.7% in the 1st quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 35,334 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $2,362,000 after purchasing an additional 15,106 shares during the period. Finally, CWM LLC grew its position in shares of Kemper by 63.3% during the 1st quarter. CWM LLC now owns 30,401 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $2,032,000 after purchasing an additional 11,780 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors 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.