Strs Ohio Invests $1.62 Million in Kemper Corporation $KMPR

Key Points

• Strs Ohio acquired a new stake in Kemper Corporation, purchasing 24,247 shares valued at approximately $1.6 million in the first quarter.
• Several institutional investors, including AQR Capital Management and Boston Partners, increased their holdings in Kemper, demonstrating growing institutional interest in the company.
• Kemper Corporation recently announced a stock repurchase plan allowing for the purchase of up to $500 million in shares, signifying a belief that the stock is currently undervalued.

Strs Ohio bought a new position in shares of Kemper Corporation (NYSE:KMPR - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm bought 24,247 shares of the insurance provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,621,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in shares of Kemper by 87.0% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,337 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $89,000 after purchasing an additional 622 shares during the last quarter. Jump Financial LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Kemper by 59.7% during the 1st quarter. Jump Financial LLC now owns 19,400 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $1,297,000 after purchasing an additional 7,255 shares in the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Kemper by 74.7% in the first quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 35,334 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $2,362,000 after purchasing an additional 15,106 shares in the last quarter. M&T Bank Corp acquired a new stake in Kemper in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $301,000. Finally, KBC Group NV raised its position in Kemper by 14.3% in the 1st quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,948 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $197,000 after buying an additional 369 shares during the last quarter. 86.23% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. JMP Securities cut 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 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 Kemper from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, August 9th. Piper Sandler reiterated an "underweight" rating and issued a $50.00 price target (down from $75.00) on shares of Kemper in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. Finally, Cowen reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Kemper in a report on Thursday, August 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $72.75.

Kemper Price Performance

NYSE:KMPR traded down $1.09 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $51.74. The stock had a trading volume of 2,047,747 shares, compared to its average volume of 705,946. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.74 and a beta of 1.30. 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 company has a 50 day simple moving average of $55.71 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $60.39. Kemper Corporation has a one year low of $45.02 and a one year high of $73.01.

Kemper (NYSE:KMPR - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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 business had revenue of $1.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.23 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.42 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that Kemper Corporation will post 6.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kemper Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 2.5%. Kemper's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 24.11%.

Kemper announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, August 5th that allows the company to buyback $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the insurance provider to repurchase up to 12.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often an indication that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity at Kemper

In other news, Director Jason N. Gorevic acquired 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 7th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $49.14 per share, with a total value of $98,280.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 22,072 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,084,618.08. The trade was a 9.96% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Gerald Laderman purchased 3,000 shares of Kemper stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 7th. The shares were bought at an average price of $49.37 per share, for a total transaction of $148,110.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 24,635 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,216,229.95. This trade represents a 13.87% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 6.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.