Kemper (NYSE:KMPR) Upgraded to Hold at Zacks Research

Zacks Research upgraded shares of Kemper (NYSE:KMPR) from a strong sell rating to a hold rating in a research note released on Tuesday morning,Zacks.com reports.

Several other analysts have also issued reports on KMPR. William Blair lowered shares of Kemper from a “market perform” rating to an “underperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 18th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Kemper from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 17th. Citigroup lowered shares of Kemper to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Kemper from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 14th. Finally, Citizens Jmp lowered shares of Kemper from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $54.50.

Kemper Stock Performance

NYSE KMPR opened at $32.53 on Tuesday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $31.38 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $38.25. The company has a quick ratio of 0.18, a current ratio of 0.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. Kemper has a 12-month low of $28.41 and a 12-month high of $66.13. The firm has a market cap of $1.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.85 and a beta of 1.14.

Kemper (NYSE:KMPR) last posted its quarterly 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). Kemper had a net margin of 2.99% and a return on equity of 8.02%. The business had revenue of $1.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.22 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.78 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Kemper will post 6.03 EPS for the current year.

Kemper Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 3rd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 17th were issued a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.9%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 17th. Kemper’s dividend payout ratio is currently 58.45%.

Institutional Trading of Kemper

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Kemper by 40.1% during the third quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 2,780,270 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $143,323,000 after purchasing an additional 795,131 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in shares of Kemper by 12.9% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,776,543 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $143,131,000 after purchasing an additional 316,216 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in shares of Kemper by 6.0% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,472,276 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $100,227,000 after purchasing an additional 140,539 shares during the period. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Kemper by 0.5% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,212,025 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $142,764,000 after purchasing an additional 10,213 shares during the period. Finally, Lakewood Capital Management LP boosted its holdings in shares of Kemper by 13.7% during the third quarter. Lakewood Capital Management LP now owns 1,181,090 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $60,885,000 after purchasing an additional 142,000 shares during the period. 86.23% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Kemper Company Profile

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.