Moran Wealth Management LLC Makes New Investment in Kemper Corporation $KMPR

Key Points

• Moran Wealth Management LLC acquired 9,425 shares of Kemper Corporation, valued at approximately $608,000, during the second quarter.
• Kemper Corporation has recently announced a $500 million share buyback plan and a quarterly dividend of $0.32 per share, indicating management's belief that the stock is undervalued.
• Analysts have mixed views on Kemper, with three maintaining a "Buy" rating, three issuing a "Hold" rating, and one a "Sell" rating, resulting in an average price target of $67.25.

Moran Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Kemper Corporation (NYSE:KMPR - Free Report) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 9,425 shares of the insurance provider's stock, valued at approximately $608,000.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of KMPR. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in shares of Kemper by 0.8% during the 1st quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,759,405 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $184,466,000 after purchasing an additional 20,899 shares during the period. Boston Partners grew its stake 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 during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Kemper by 37.4% during the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,258,844 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $84,154,000 after purchasing an additional 342,649 shares during the period. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP grew its stake in shares of Kemper by 8.9% during the 1st quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP now owns 1,192,664 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $79,730,000 after purchasing an additional 97,770 shares during the period. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Kemper by 16.2% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 557,786 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $37,288,000 after purchasing an additional 77,764 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.23% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

KMPR has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Cowen reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Kemper in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. JMP Securities lowered their price target on shares of Kemper from $85.00 to $75.00 and set a "market outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Kemper in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Raymond James Financial cut shares of Kemper from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating and set a $60.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of Kemper from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 7th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $67.25.

Kemper Price Performance

Shares of NYSE KMPR opened at $47.35 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $2.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.92 and a beta of 1.25. Kemper Corporation has a 52 week low of $45.02 and a 52 week high of $73.01. The company's 50-day moving average price is $52.00 and its 200 day moving average price is $58.19. The company has a current ratio of 0.21, a quick ratio of 0.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32.

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 firm had revenue of $1.23 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations 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 last year, the company posted $1.42 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that Kemper Corporation will post 6.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kemper Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 18th were issued a $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 18th. Kemper's dividend payout ratio is 24.11%.

Kemper declared that its board has initiated a share buyback plan on Tuesday, August 5th that permits the company to repurchase $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the insurance provider to purchase up to 12.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Kemper

In other news, Director Jason N. Gorevic bought 2,000 shares of Kemper stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 7th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $49.14 per share, for a total transaction of $98,280.00. Following the acquisition, the director owned 22,072 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,084,618.08. This trade represents a 9.96% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Gerald Laderman bought 3,000 shares of Kemper stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 7th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at $1,216,229.95. This represents a 13.87% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 6.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate 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.

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