William Blair Issues Negative Forecast for Kemper Earnings

Key Points

• William Blair has lowered its Q3 2025 earnings estimate for Kemper Corporation to $1.36 per share, down from $1.48, while the full-year earnings expectation remains at $6.03 per share.
• Multiple analysts have recently downgraded Kemper, with Piper Sandler reducing their target price from $75 to $50, while the average target price for the stock is presently $72.40.
• Kemper has authorized a $500 million stock buyback program, reflecting management's belief that the stock is undervalued.

Kemper Corporation (NYSE:KMPR - Free Report) - William Blair lowered their Q3 2025 earnings per share estimates for Kemper in a research report issued on Wednesday, August 6th. William Blair analyst A. Klauber now forecasts that the insurance provider will post earnings per share of $1.36 for the quarter, down from their prior estimate of $1.48. The consensus estimate for Kemper's current full-year earnings is $6.03 per share. William Blair also issued estimates for Kemper's FY2025 earnings at $5.68 EPS.

Other research analysts have also issued research reports about the company. Cowen restated a "buy" rating on shares of Kemper in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Piper Sandler restated an "underweight" rating and issued a $50.00 target price (down previously from $75.00) on shares of Kemper in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. JMP Securities dropped their price target on Kemper from $85.00 to $75.00 and set a "market outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered Kemper from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $72.40.

Kemper Stock Up 2.6%

Shares of KMPR stock traded up $1.33 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $52.27. The company had a trading volume of 1,437,164 shares, compared to its average volume of 556,493. Kemper has a 12 month low of $45.02 and a 12 month high of $73.01. 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 business has a fifty day simple moving average of $61.50 and a 200-day simple moving average of $63.03. The company has a market cap of $3.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.84 and a beta of 1.27.

Kemper (NYSE:KMPR - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.23 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.42 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year.

Kemper announced that its board has authorized a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, August 5th that authorizes the company to repurchase $500.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the insurance provider to buy up to 12.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Kemper Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 18th will be given a $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 18th. Kemper's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 24.11%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Alberto J. Paracchini bought 500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 10th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $61.71 per share, with a total value of $30,855.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 10,323 shares of the company's stock, valued at $637,032.33. This represents a 5.09% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Jason N. Gorevic bought 2,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the director directly owned 22,072 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,084,618.08. The trade was a 9.96% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders bought 8,000 shares of company stock valued at $432,845 over the last ninety days. 0.76% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Kemper

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Kemper by 69.2% in the 4th quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 916,195 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $60,661,000 after acquiring an additional 374,798 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Kemper in the 4th quarter valued at about $23,325,000. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. lifted its stake in shares of Kemper by 83.3% in the 1st quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. now owns 730,175 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $48,813,000 after acquiring an additional 331,770 shares during the last quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Kemper by 673.8% in the 1st quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 262,650 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $17,558,000 after acquiring an additional 228,707 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Balyasny Asset Management L.P. lifted its stake in shares of Kemper by 175.8% in the 4th quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 314,295 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $20,882,000 after acquiring an additional 200,346 shares during the last quarter. 86.23% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.