111 Capital Makes New $494,000 Investment in Kemper Corporation $KMPR

Key Points

• 111 Capital has made a new investment in Kemper Corporation, acquiring 7,661 shares valued at approximately $494,000, during the second quarter.
• Kemper is currently undergoing a stock repurchase program allowing the company to buy back up to $500 million worth of shares, indicating management believes the stock is undervalued.
• The firm recently reported earnings per share of $1.30, missing expectations, with revenue of $1.23 billion, an increase of 8.5% year-over-year.

111 Capital acquired a new position in shares of Kemper Corporation (NYSE:KMPR - Free Report) during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 7,661 shares of the insurance provider's stock, valued at approximately $494,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of KMPR. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Kemper by 37.4% during the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,258,844 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $84,154,000 after buying an additional 342,649 shares in the last quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. grew its stake in Kemper by 83.3% during the first quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. now owns 730,175 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $48,813,000 after buying an additional 331,770 shares in the last quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC grew its stake in Kemper by 673.8% during the first quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 262,650 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $17,558,000 after buying an additional 228,707 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. acquired a new stake in Kemper during the second quarter worth about $12,819,000. Finally, Boston Partners grew its stake in Kemper by 14.3% during the first quarter. Boston Partners now owns 1,263,961 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $83,357,000 after buying an additional 158,102 shares in the last quarter. 86.23% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Kemper Stock Up 0.4%

NYSE:KMPR opened at $50.62 on Monday. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $53.69 and its 200 day simple moving average is $59.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 0.21 and a quick ratio of 0.21. Kemper Corporation has a one year low of $45.02 and a one year high of $73.01. The company has a market cap of $3.18 billion, a PE ratio of 9.53 and a beta of 1.25.

Kemper (NYSE:KMPR - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The insurance provider reported $1.30 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.52 by ($0.22). Kemper had a return on equity of 14.39% and a net margin of 7.18%.The business had revenue of $1.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.23 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.42 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that Kemper Corporation will post 6.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Kemper declared that its board has initiated a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, August 5th that permits the company to buyback $500.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization permits the insurance provider to reacquire up to 12.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally an indication that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Kemper Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Investors of record on Monday, August 18th were given a dividend of $0.32 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 18th. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.5%. Kemper's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 24.11%.

Insider Activity at Kemper

In other Kemper news, Director Gerald Laderman bought 3,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 7th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $49.37 per share, for a total transaction of $148,110.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 24,635 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,216,229.95. This represents a 13.87% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Jason N. Gorevic purchased 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 7th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $49.14 per share, with a total value of $98,280.00. Following the acquisition, the director owned 22,072 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,084,618.08. The trade was a 9.96% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.76% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

KMPR has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. JMP Securities reduced their price objective on shares of Kemper from $85.00 to $75.00 and set a "market outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Kemper from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 9th. Piper Sandler restated an "underweight" rating and issued a $50.00 price target (down from $75.00) on shares of Kemper in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Kemper in a research note on Saturday, September 27th. Finally, Cowen restated a "buy" rating on shares of Kemper in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Kemper has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $72.75.

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.

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