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

Kemper Co. (NYSE:KMPR) has been assigned a consensus rating of “Buy” from the five analysts that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year target price among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $81.60.

Several brokerages have weighed in on KMPR. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on Kemper from $72.00 to $84.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Piper Sandler upped their price target on shares of Kemper from $83.00 to $86.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Raymond James increased their price target on shares of Kemper from $75.00 to $82.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 26th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Kemper from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in shares of Kemper by 114.7% during the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 541 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 289 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC boosted its position in Kemper by 195.2% during the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 10,399 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $637,000 after acquiring an additional 6,876 shares in the last quarter. Inspire Investing LLC grew its holdings in shares of Kemper by 13.1% during the 3rd quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 6,722 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $412,000 after acquiring an additional 779 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. raised its position in shares of Kemper by 83.3% in the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,227 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $132,000 after acquiring an additional 1,012 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Kemper in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $430,000. 86.23% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Kemper Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:KMPR opened at $66.02 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 0.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. The stock has a market cap of $4.23 billion, a PE ratio of 13.45 and a beta of 0.88. The company’s fifty day moving average is $66.30 and its 200 day moving average is $64.57. Kemper has a 52 week low of $54.11 and a 52 week high of $73.01.

Kemper (NYSE:KMPR) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The insurance provider reported $1.78 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.38 by $0.40. Kemper had a return on equity of 14.11% and a net margin of 6.85%. Research analysts anticipate that Kemper will post 5.95 earnings per share for the current year.

Kemper Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be paid a $0.32 dividend. This is a positive change from Kemper’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.94%. Kemper’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 25.25%.

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.