Fayez Sarofim & Co Cuts Stake in Kemper Corporation (NYSE:KMPR)

Key Points

• Fayez Sarofim & Co reduced its stake in Kemper Corporation by 14.4%, owning approximately 807,597 shares valued at $53.99 million at the end of the first quarter.
• Kemper's board has authorized a $500 million stock repurchase program, signaling that they believe the stock may be undervalued.
• The company reported earnings per share (EPS) of $1.30 for the last quarter, missing estimates and showing an increase in revenue by 8.5% year-over-year.

Fayez Sarofim & Co lowered its position in shares of Kemper Corporation (NYSE:KMPR - Free Report) by 14.4% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 807,597 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 135,651 shares during the period. Fayez Sarofim & Co owned approximately 1.26% of Kemper worth $53,988,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in KMPR. CX Institutional acquired a new stake in shares of Kemper in the 1st quarter valued at about $38,000. UMB Bank n.a. increased its stake in shares of Kemper by 104.4% during the first quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 650 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $43,000 after acquiring an additional 332 shares during the period. CENTRAL TRUST Co acquired a new position in shares of Kemper during the first quarter worth about $44,000. Bayforest Capital Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Kemper during the first quarter worth about $44,000. Finally, True Wealth Design LLC increased its stake in shares of Kemper by 197.5% during the fourth quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 717 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $48,000 after acquiring an additional 476 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.23% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have issued reports on KMPR. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an "underweight" rating and issued a $50.00 price target (down previously from $75.00) on shares of Kemper in a report on Wednesday. Cowen reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Kemper in a report on Thursday. JMP Securities cut their price objective 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. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Kemper from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $72.40.

Kemper Price Performance

Shares of KMPR stock traded down $0.37 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $50.25. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,345,776 shares, compared to its average volume of 897,830. Kemper Corporation has a 1-year low of $45.02 and a 1-year high of $73.01. The company has a market cap of $3.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.46 and a beta of 1.27. The firm's 50-day moving average is $61.76 and its two-hundred day moving average is $63.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 0.22 and a current ratio of 0.21.

Kemper (NYSE:KMPR - Get Free Report) last released its 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). The business had revenue of $1.23 billion for 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%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.42 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Kemper Corporation will post 6.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Kemper Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 18th will be given a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 18th. Kemper's payout ratio is 24.11%.

Kemper declared that its board has authorized a share buyback plan on Tuesday, August 5th that authorizes the company to buyback $500.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the insurance provider to buy up to 12.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often a sign that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Kemper news, Director Alberto J. Paracchini bought 500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 10th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $61.71 per share, with a total value of $30,855.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 10,323 shares in the company, valued at $637,032.33. The trade was a 5.09% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Jason N. Gorevic bought 2,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 7th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $49.14 per share, with a total value of $98,280.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 22,072 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,084,618.08. This trade represents a 9.96% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders purchased a total of 8,000 shares of company stock valued at $432,845 over the last ninety days. 6.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Kemper Company 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.