Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC Has $13.36 Million Stock Position in Kemper Corporation $KMPR

Key Points

• Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC reduced its holdings in Kemper Corporation by 4.7%, owning approximately $13.36 million in shares after selling 9,776 shares.
• A total of 86.23% of Kemper’s stock is owned by hedge funds and institutional investors, indicating strong institutional interest in the company.
• Kemper recently announced a $500 million share repurchase program and a quarterly dividend of $0.32 per share, demonstrating its commitment to returning value to shareholders.

Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC cut its holdings in Kemper Corporation (NYSE:KMPR - Free Report) by 4.7% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 199,894 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 9,776 shares during the period. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC owned approximately 0.31% of Kemper worth $13,363,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Barclays PLC boosted its stake in Kemper by 158.1% during the 4th quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 75,036 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $4,987,000 after purchasing an additional 45,969 shares during the last quarter. Mariner LLC boosted its stake in shares of Kemper by 4.7% in the 4th quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 16,642 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $1,106,000 after buying an additional 741 shares during the last quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Kemper by 8.4% in the 4th quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 33,943 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $2,255,000 after buying an additional 2,643 shares during the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC boosted its stake in shares of Kemper by 212.4% in the 4th quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 10,752 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $714,000 after buying an additional 7,310 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC purchased a new position in shares of Kemper in the 4th quarter worth approximately $234,000. 86.23% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Kemper Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:KMPR traded down $0.20 on Thursday, reaching $53.35. The company's stock had a trading volume of 521,788 shares, compared to its average volume of 577,687. Kemper Corporation has a 52-week low of $45.02 and a 52-week 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. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $59.11 and a 200 day simple moving average of $61.92. The company has a market cap of $3.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.05 and a beta of 1.27.

Kemper (NYSE:KMPR - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $1.23 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.23 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.42 EPS. The company's revenue was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Kemper Corporation will post 6.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kemper declared that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Tuesday, August 5th that allows the company to repurchase $500.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the insurance provider to reacquire up to 12.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Kemper Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 18th will be issued a $0.32 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 18th. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.4%. Kemper's dividend payout ratio is presently 24.11%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Kemper news, Director Alberto J. Paracchini purchased 500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 10th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $61.71 per share, for a total transaction of $30,855.00. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 10,323 shares in the company, valued at approximately $637,032.33. This trade represents a 5.09% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Jason N. Gorevic purchased 2,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 acquisition, the director directly owned 22,072 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,084,618.08. This represents a 9.96% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders acquired a total of 8,000 shares of company stock worth $432,845 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 6.20% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

About Kemper

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.