Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. Makes New Investment in Kemper Corporation $KMPR

Key Points

• Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. has acquired 125,500 shares of Kemper Corporation valued at approximately $8.39 million, meaning they now own about 0.20% of the company.
• Kemper Corporation's board has initiated a $500 million share buyback plan, allowing repurchase of up to 12.8% of its shares, signaling management's belief that the shares are undervalued.
• The company reported a miss in quarterly earnings with an EPS of $1.30, falling short of analysts' expectations of $1.52; however, revenue increased by 8.5% year-over-year.

Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. acquired a new position in Kemper Corporation (NYSE:KMPR - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 125,500 shares of the insurance provider's stock, valued at approximately $8,390,000. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. owned about 0.20% of Kemper at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in Kemper by 87.0% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,337 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $89,000 after buying an additional 622 shares in the last quarter. Jump Financial LLC boosted its stake in Kemper by 59.7% during the first quarter. Jump Financial LLC now owns 19,400 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $1,297,000 after buying an additional 7,255 shares in the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC boosted its stake in Kemper by 74.7% during the first quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 35,334 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $2,362,000 after buying an additional 15,106 shares in the last quarter. M&T Bank Corp acquired a new stake in Kemper during the first quarter worth $301,000. Finally, KBC Group NV boosted its stake in Kemper by 14.3% during the first quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,948 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $197,000 after buying an additional 369 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.23% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

KMPR has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Kemper from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 9th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Kemper to a "strong sell" rating in a research note on Monday, August 11th. Cowen reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Kemper in a report on Thursday, August 7th. JMP Securities cut their price objective on Kemper from $85.00 to $75.00 and set a "market outperform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. Finally, Piper Sandler reissued an "underweight" rating and set a $50.00 price objective (down from $75.00) on shares of Kemper in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $72.75.

Insider Transactions at Kemper

In other Kemper news, Director Gerald Laderman purchased 3,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 7th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $49.37 per share, with a total value of $148,110.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 24,635 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,216,229.95. This represents a 13.87% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Jason N. Gorevic purchased 2,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 7th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $49.14 per share, with a total value of $98,280.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 22,072 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,084,618.08. The trade was a 9.96% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 6.20% of the company's stock.

Kemper Price Performance

Shares of NYSE KMPR traded down $0.21 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $53.38. 691,953 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 730,276. The firm has a market cap of $3.35 billion, a PE ratio of 10.05 and a beta of 1.30. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $56.68 and its 200-day simple moving average is $60.88. Kemper Corporation has a 12 month low of $45.02 and a 12 month high of $73.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 0.21 and a current ratio of 0.21.

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

Kemper Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Investors of record on Monday, August 18th were issued a $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 18th. Kemper's payout ratio is currently 24.11%.

Kemper announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback program on Tuesday, August 5th that permits the company to buyback $500.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization permits the insurance provider to repurchase up to 12.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Kemper 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.