Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Acquires Shares of 198,614 Kemper Corporation $KMPR

Key Points

• Assenagon Asset Management S.A. acquired 198,614 shares of Kemper Corporation during the second quarter, valued at approximately $12.8 million, establishing a 0.31% ownership stake.
• Kemper announced a $500 million stock buyback plan, allowing it to repurchase up to 12.8% of its outstanding shares, indicating management's belief in the stock's undervaluation.
• Kemper's stock is currently rated as a Moderate Buy by analysts, with a consensus price target of $72.75 despite recent downgrades from several firms.

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. acquired a new stake in Kemper Corporation (NYSE:KMPR - Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 198,614 shares of the insurance provider's stock, valued at approximately $12,819,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. owned 0.31% of Kemper as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of KMPR. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Kemper by 37.4% in the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,258,844 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $84,154,000 after buying an additional 342,649 shares during the period. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. boosted its position in shares of Kemper by 83.3% during the 1st quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. now owns 730,175 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $48,813,000 after purchasing an additional 331,770 shares in the last quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Kemper by 673.8% during the 1st quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 262,650 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $17,558,000 after purchasing an additional 228,707 shares in the last quarter. Boston Partners boosted its position in shares of Kemper by 14.3% during the 1st quarter. Boston Partners now owns 1,263,961 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $83,357,000 after purchasing an additional 158,102 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its position in shares of Kemper by 36.1% during the 1st quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 505,041 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $33,762,000 after purchasing an additional 133,897 shares in the last quarter. 86.23% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity 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 shares were purchased at an average price of $49.37 per share, for a total transaction of $148,110.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 24,635 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,216,229.95. This represents a 13.87% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 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 price of $49.14 per share, for a total transaction of $98,280.00. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 22,072 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,084,618.08. This trade represents a 9.96% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 0.76% of the company's stock.

Kemper Trading Up 0.1%

Shares of KMPR stock opened at $51.86 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $3.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.77 and a beta of 1.30. Kemper Corporation has a 1-year low of $45.02 and a 1-year high of $73.01. 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 firm's 50-day simple moving average is $55.50 and its 200-day simple moving average is $60.20.

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

Kemper declared that its board has approved a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, August 5th that allows the company to repurchase $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the insurance provider to buy up to 12.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

Kemper Dividend Announcement

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. 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 presently 24.11%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. JMP Securities decreased their target price on shares of Kemper from $85.00 to $75.00 and set a "market outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, August 6th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Kemper to a "strong sell" rating in a research report on Monday, August 11th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Kemper from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 9th. Piper Sandler restated an "underweight" rating and set a $50.00 target price (down from $75.00) on shares of Kemper in a research report on Wednesday, August 6th. Finally, Cowen restated a "buy" rating on shares of Kemper in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $72.75.

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.

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