Lakewood Capital Management LP Acquires 142,000 Shares of Kemper Corporation $KMPR

Lakewood Capital Management LP boosted its holdings in Kemper Corporation (NYSE:KMPR) by 13.7% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 1,181,090 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 142,000 shares during the quarter. Kemper comprises about 4.6% of Lakewood Capital Management LP’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 5th biggest holding. Lakewood Capital Management LP’s holdings in Kemper were worth $60,885,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Squarepoint Ops LLC boosted its position in shares of Kemper by 462.9% during the 3rd quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 231,371 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $11,927,000 after purchasing an additional 190,269 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in shares of Kemper by 12.9% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,776,543 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $143,131,000 after purchasing an additional 316,216 shares in the last quarter. FORA Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Kemper in the third quarter valued at about $337,000. Entropy Technologies LP boosted its holdings in Kemper by 761.0% during the third quarter. Entropy Technologies LP now owns 28,377 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,463,000 after buying an additional 25,081 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its holdings in Kemper by 818.1% during the third quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 260,014 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $13,404,000 after buying an additional 231,694 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.23% of the company’s stock.

Kemper Stock Performance

Shares of KMPR opened at $29.71 on Friday. Kemper Corporation has a 12-month low of $28.41 and a 12-month high of $69.83. The stock has a market cap of $1.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.57 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a current ratio of 0.18, a quick ratio of 0.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The company has a 50-day moving average of $35.11 and a two-hundred day moving average of $41.90.

Kemper (NYSE:KMPR) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The insurance provider reported $0.25 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.85 by ($0.60). Kemper had a net margin of 2.99% and a return on equity of 8.02%. The business had revenue of $1.13 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.22 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.78 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Kemper Corporation will post 6.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kemper Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 3rd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 17th were issued a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.3%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 17th. Kemper’s dividend payout ratio is 58.45%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. William Blair cut shares of Kemper from a “market perform” rating to an “underperform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 18th. Wall Street Zen lowered Kemper from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 14th. Citigroup cut Kemper to a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 5th. UBS Group set a $56.00 price objective on Kemper in a report on Monday, February 9th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded Kemper from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research report on Friday, February 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Kemper has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $56.50.

Kemper 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.