Kemper (NYSE:KMPR) to Repurchase $500.00 million in Stock

Key Points

• Kemper has approved a share repurchase program to buy back $500 million in outstanding shares, representing up to 12.8% of its shares.
• The company's stock price recently increased by 1.2% to reach $61.61 per share, despite missing earnings expectations with a reported $1.30 earnings per share.
• Kemper also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.32 per share, which translates to an annualized dividend yield of 2.1%.

Kemper (NYSE:KMPR - Get Free Report) announced that its board has approved a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, August 5th, RTT News reports. The company plans to buyback $500.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization permits the insurance provider to purchase up to 12.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically a sign that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Kemper Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE KMPR traded up $2.14 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $50.56. 2,604,528 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 541,579. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.52 and a beta of 1.27. Kemper has a one year low of $45.02 and a one year high of $73.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 0.22 and a quick ratio of 0.22. The company's 50 day moving average is $62.29 and its 200 day moving average is $63.36.

Kemper (NYSE:KMPR - Get Free Report) last issued 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 14.55% and a net margin of 7.18%. The business had revenue of $1.23 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.23 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.42 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Kemper will post 6.03 EPS for the current year.

Kemper Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 18th will be paid a dividend of $0.32 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 18th. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.5%. Kemper's payout ratio is currently 23.93%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on KMPR. Cowen restated a "buy" rating on shares of Kemper in a report on Thursday. Wall Street Zen cut Kemper from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, June 6th. JMP Securities lowered 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, Piper Sandler reissued an "underweight" rating and set a $50.00 target price (down previously from $75.00) on shares of Kemper in a research note on Wednesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $72.40.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Kemper news, Director Gerald Laderman bought 3,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 7th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $49.37 per share, for a total transaction of $148,110.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 24,635 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,216,229.95. The trade was a 13.87% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Jason N. Gorevic purchased 2,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 7th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $49.14 per share, with a total value of $98,280.00. Following the purchase, the director owned 22,072 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,084,618.08. This trade represents a 9.96% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have acquired 8,000 shares of company stock worth $432,845 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 6.20% of the company's stock.

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.