Kemper (NYSE:KMPR) Downgraded to “Sell” Rating by Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen cut shares of Kemper (NYSE:KMPR) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research report report published on Saturday morning.

Other analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. Piper Sandler cut their price target on shares of Kemper from $50.00 to $35.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, November 6th. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Kemper in a research note on Monday, December 29th. UBS Group set a $56.00 price target on Kemper in a research note on Monday, February 9th. William Blair cut Kemper from a “market perform” rating to an “underperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 18th. Finally, Citigroup downgraded Kemper to a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $56.50.

Kemper Stock Performance

Kemper stock opened at $32.08 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 0.18 and a quick ratio of 0.19. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $38.77 and its 200 day moving average price is $45.04. The company has a market capitalization of $1.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.65 and a beta of 1.14. Kemper has a 12-month low of $30.05 and a 12-month high of $69.83.

Kemper (NYSE:KMPR) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The insurance provider reported $0.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.85 by ($0.60). The business had revenue of $1.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.22 billion. Kemper had a return on equity of 8.02% and a net margin of 2.99%.The firm’s revenue was down 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.78 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Kemper will post 6.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kemper Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 3rd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 17th will be paid a $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.0%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 17th. Kemper’s payout ratio is presently 58.45%.

Institutional Trading of Kemper

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in KMPR. Huntington National Bank grew its stake in Kemper by 187.1% during the 4th quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 646 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 421 shares during the last quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Kemper by 1,098.0% during the third quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 587 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 538 shares during the period. Signaturefd LLC acquired a new position in shares of Kemper during the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp grew its position in shares of Kemper by 73.5% during the third quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 656 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 278 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Kemper in the 3rd quarter worth about $36,000. Institutional investors own 86.23% of the company’s stock.

Kemper Company Profile

Kemper Corporation (NYSE:KMPR) is a diversified insurance holding company headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. Formed through the rebranding of Unitrin in 2010, Kemper has established a nationwide presence by offering a broad array of property and casualty insurance products. The company distributes its products through independent agents, brokers and direct-to-consumer channels, serving both individual policyholders and commercial clients.

The personal insurance segment provides coverage for automobiles, homeowners, renters and umbrella lines, while the commercial business focuses on liability, workers’ compensation and specialty property solutions tailored to small and mid-sized enterprises.