Freestone Grove Partners LP Makes New Investment in Kemper Corporation $KMPR

Key Points

• Freestone Grove Partners opened a new Kemper position by purchasing 67,015 shares worth approximately $1.8 million. Institutional investors collectively own 86.23% of the insurer.
• Analyst sentiment remains cautious: Kemper has a consensus “Reduce” rating and an average price target of $43.25, despite some firms maintaining Buy ratings.
• Kemper reported quarterly EPS of $0.45, beating estimates of $0.34, while revenue fell 10.8% year over year to $1.09 billion. The company also declared a $0.32 quarterly dividend, representing a 4.6% annualized yield.

Freestone Grove Partners LP bought a new position in shares of Kemper Corporation (NYSE:KMPR - Free Report) during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 67,015 shares of the insurance provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,807,000. Freestone Grove Partners LP owned 0.11% of Kemper as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Kemper in the second quarter valued at approximately $227,331,000. Walleye Capital LLC bought a new position in Kemper in the second quarter worth approximately $21,709,000. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Kemper by 40.1% during the 3rd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 2,780,270 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $143,323,000 after purchasing an additional 795,131 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC increased its holdings in Kemper by 129.8% during the 3rd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,115,660 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $57,512,000 after purchasing an additional 630,241 shares during the period. Finally, Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. bought a new stake in Kemper during the 4th quarter valued at $24,324,000. Institutional investors own 86.23% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have weighed in on KMPR. Piper Sandler lowered their target price on Kemper from $35.00 to $28.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Weiss Ratings lowered Kemper from a "sell (d+)" rating to a "sell (d)" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. UBS Group decreased their price objective on Kemper from $44.00 to $43.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 10th. TD Cowen lowered their price objective on shares of Kemper from $81.00 to $42.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of Kemper from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 18th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and an average target price of $43.25.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Gerald Laderman purchased 4,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 11th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $26.49 per share, with a total value of $105,960.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 33,365 shares in the company, valued at $883,838.85. This represents a 13.62% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Bradley T. Camden purchased 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 11th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $26.34 per share, for a total transaction of $26,340.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief financial officer directly owned 51,259 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,350,162.06. This represents a 1.99% increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders purchased a total of 14,000 shares of company stock valued at $367,880 in the last three months. 0.61% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Kemper Trading Up 1.4%

Shares of NYSE:KMPR opened at $28.03 on Friday. Kemper Corporation has a 12-month low of $22.69 and a 12-month high of $54.64. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $27.98 and its 200-day simple moving average is $29.33. The company has a market capitalization of $1.65 billion, a PE ratio of -3.34 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a current ratio of 0.17, a quick ratio of 0.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43.

Kemper (NYSE:KMPR - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The insurance provider reported $0.45 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.34 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $1.09 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.16 billion. Kemper had a positive return on equity of 2.89% and a negative net margin of 10.84%.The business's revenue for the quarter was down 10.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.30 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Kemper Corporation will post 2.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kemper Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 4th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 21st will be issued a $0.32 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 21st. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.6%. Kemper's payout ratio is currently -15.24%.

Kemper Profile

Kemper Corporation NYSE: KMPR is a diversified insurance holding company headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. Formed through the rebranding of Unitrin in 2010, Kemper has established a nationwide presence by offering a broad array of property and casualty insurance products. The company distributes its products through independent agents, brokers and direct-to-consumer channels, serving both individual policyholders and commercial clients.

The personal insurance segment provides coverage for automobiles, homeowners, renters and umbrella lines, while the commercial business focuses on liability, workers' compensation and specialty property solutions tailored to small and mid-sized enterprises.

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