Kemper Corporation (NYSE:KMPR) Receives Average Rating of "Moderate Buy" from Brokerages

Key Points

• Kemper Corporation has received an average rating of "Moderate Buy" from six brokerages, with an average price target of $72.75.
• Recent trades by directors Jason N. Gorevic and Gerald Laderman indicate insider confidence, as they both purchased additional shares, increasing their ownership stakes significantly.
• Kemper announced a $500 million stock buyback program, signaling the board's belief that the company's shares are undervalued.

Shares of Kemper Corporation (NYSE:KMPR - Get Free Report) have been assigned an average rating of "Moderate Buy" from the six research firms that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price target among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $72.75.

KMPR has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Cowen reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Kemper in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. Wall Street Zen lowered Kemper from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 9th. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an "underweight" rating and set a $50.00 price objective (down previously from $75.00) on shares of Kemper in a research report on Wednesday, August 6th. Zacks Research raised Kemper to a "strong sell" rating in a research report on Monday, August 11th. Finally, JMP Securities reduced their price objective on Kemper from $85.00 to $75.00 and set a "market outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, August 6th.

Insider Buying and Selling at Kemper

In other Kemper news, Director Jason N. Gorevic purchased 2,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 7th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $49.14 per share, for a total transaction of $98,280.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 22,072 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,084,618.08. This trade represents a 9.96% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Gerald Laderman purchased 3,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 7th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $49.37 per share, with a total value of $148,110.00. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 24,635 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,216,229.95. The trade was 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 owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of KMPR. CX Institutional purchased a new position in shares of Kemper in the first quarter worth $38,000. UMB Bank n.a. grew its holdings in shares of Kemper by 104.4% in 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 bought a new stake in shares of Kemper in the first quarter worth $44,000. Bayforest Capital Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Kemper in the first quarter worth $44,000. Finally, IFP Advisors Inc grew its holdings in shares of Kemper by 651.6% in the second quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 699 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $45,000 after acquiring an additional 606 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.23% of the company's stock.

Kemper Trading Down 0.6%

KMPR opened at $51.48 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $3.23 billion, a PE ratio of 9.69 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a quick ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 0.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The business has a 50 day moving average of $54.93 and a 200-day moving average of $59.99. Kemper has a 52 week low of $45.02 and a 52 week high of $73.01.

Kemper (NYSE:KMPR - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 5th. The insurance provider reported $1.30 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.52 by ($0.22). Kemper had a net margin of 7.18% and a return on equity of 14.39%. The company had revenue of $1.23 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.23 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.42 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Kemper will post 6.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kemper declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback program on Tuesday, August 5th that allows the company to repurchase $500.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the insurance provider to buy up to 12.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Kemper Dividend Announcement

The firm 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 18th. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.5%. Kemper's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 24.11%.

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.

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