Kemper Corporation $KMPR Shares Sold by Alliancebernstein L.P.

Key Points

• Alliancebernstein L.P. reduced its position in Kemper Corporation by 6.4% in the first quarter, now holding 712,407 shares valued at approximately $47.6 million.
• Kemper announced a quarterly dividend of $0.32 per share, equating to an annualized yield of 2.4%, and has initiated a stock buyback program allowing repurchase of up to $500 million in shares.
• Kemper's recent stock performance has shown a decline of 0.4%, with analysts offering mixed ratings and an average target price of $72.75.

Alliancebernstein L.P. decreased its stake in Kemper Corporation (NYSE:KMPR - Free Report) by 6.4% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 712,407 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 49,077 shares during the period. Alliancebernstein L.P. owned 1.11% of Kemper worth $47,624,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. CX Institutional acquired a new position in Kemper in the first quarter valued at $38,000. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its position in shares of Kemper by 104.4% in the 1st quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 650 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 332 shares during the period. CENTRAL TRUST Co acquired a new stake in shares of Kemper in the 1st quarter valued at about $44,000. Bayforest Capital Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Kemper in the 1st quarter valued at about $44,000. Finally, True Wealth Design LLC boosted its position in shares of Kemper by 197.5% in the 4th quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 717 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $48,000 after purchasing an additional 476 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.23% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on KMPR shares. Cowen reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Kemper in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Kemper from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 9th. Piper Sandler reiterated an "underweight" rating and set a $50.00 price target (down previously from $75.00) on shares of Kemper in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Kemper to a "strong sell" rating in a research note on Monday, August 11th. Finally, JMP Securities decreased their target price on shares of Kemper from $85.00 to $75.00 and set a "market outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. One investment 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, Kemper presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $72.75.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Kemper news, Director Gerald Laderman bought 3,000 shares of Kemper stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 7th. The stock was bought at an average price of $49.37 per share, with a total value of $148,110.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 24,635 shares in the company, valued at $1,216,229.95. The trade was a 13.87% 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 link. Also, Director Jason N. Gorevic acquired 2,000 shares of Kemper stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 7th. The stock was bought at an average price of $49.14 per share, with a total value of $98,280.00. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 22,072 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,084,618.08. This trade represents a 9.96% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 6.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Kemper Stock Performance

Shares of KMPR stock traded down $0.00 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $53.59. The stock had a trading volume of 155,189 shares, compared to its average volume of 583,486. Kemper Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $45.02 and a fifty-two week high of $73.01. The firm has a market cap of $3.36 billion, a PE ratio of 10.09 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 0.21 and a quick ratio of 0.21. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $56.89 and its 200-day simple moving average is $60.96.

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

Kemper Announces Dividend

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

Kemper declared that its Board of Directors 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 purchase up to 12.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically an indication that the company's board 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.