Kemper (NYSE:KMPR) Lowered to “Sell” Rating by Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Kemper (NYSE:KMPR) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a report issued on Saturday morning.

KMPR has been the topic of several other research reports. Piper Sandler dropped their price objective on Kemper from $35.00 to $28.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Zacks Research upgraded Kemper from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 18th. UBS Group reduced their price objective on shares of Kemper from $44.00 to $43.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 10th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Kemper from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “sell (d)” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. Finally, TD Cowen decreased their price target on shares of Kemper from $81.00 to $42.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $43.25.

Kemper Stock Up 1.4%

Kemper stock opened at $28.03 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.65 billion, a PE ratio of -3.34 and a beta of 1.04. The company’s 50-day moving average is $27.98 and its 200-day moving average is $29.33. Kemper has a fifty-two week low of $22.69 and a fifty-two week high of $54.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.17 and a quick ratio of 0.17.

Kemper (NYSE:KMPR) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The insurance provider reported $0.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.34 by $0.11. Kemper had a negative net margin of 10.84% and a positive return on equity of 2.89%. The business had revenue of $1.09 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.16 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.30 EPS. Kemper’s revenue was down 10.8% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Kemper will post 2.02 earnings per share for the current year.

Kemper Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 4th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 21st will be paid a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.6%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 21st. Kemper’s dividend payout ratio is presently -15.24%.

Insider Transactions at Kemper

In other news, Director Gerald Laderman bought 4,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 11th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $26.49 per share, for a total transaction of $105,960.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 33,365 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $883,838.85. This represents a 13.62% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Carl Thomas Jr. Evans bought 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 11th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $26.53 per share, with a total value of $26,530.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 91,629 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,430,917.37. This represents a 1.10% increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders purchased 14,000 shares of company stock worth $367,880. Corporate insiders own 0.61% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Kemper

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in KMPR. State of Wyoming increased its holdings in shares of Kemper by 4.7% during the second quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 4,431 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $286,000 after buying an additional 199 shares in the last quarter. M&T Bank Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Kemper by 7.9% during the 2nd quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 4,863 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $314,000 after acquiring an additional 355 shares in the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC grew its position in Kemper by 27.0% during the 1st quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 1,737 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $115,000 after acquiring an additional 369 shares during the last quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd grew its position in Kemper by 24.6% during the 4th quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 1,969 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $80,000 after acquiring an additional 389 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Huntington National Bank grew its position in Kemper by 187.1% during the 4th quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 646 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 421 shares during the last quarter. 86.23% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.