Kemper (NYSE:KMPR) Cut to Sell at Wall Street Zen

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

Several other brokerages also recently issued reports on KMPR. Piper Sandler reduced their price objective on Kemper from $35.00 to $28.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. TD Cowen lowered their target price on Kemper from $81.00 to $42.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. UBS Group dropped their target price on Kemper from $44.00 to $43.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, August 10th. Zacks Research raised shares of Kemper from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 18th. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut shares of Kemper from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “sell (d)” rating in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $43.25.

Kemper Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:KMPR opened at $28.15 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $28.04 and its two-hundred day moving average is $29.26. The company has a market cap of $1.66 billion, a P/E ratio of -3.35 and a beta of 1.04. Kemper has a 12-month low of $22.69 and a 12-month high of $54.64. The company has a quick ratio of 0.17, a current ratio of 0.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43.

Kemper (NYSE:KMPR) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The insurance provider reported $0.45 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.34 by $0.11. Kemper had a positive return on equity of 2.89% and a negative net margin of 10.84%.The business had revenue of $1.09 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.16 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.30 earnings per share. Kemper’s revenue was down 10.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Kemper will post 2.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kemper Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 4th. Investors of record on Friday, August 21st will be given a dividend of $0.32 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 21st. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.5%. Kemper’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -15.24%.

Insider Transactions at Kemper

In other news, CEO Stephen J. Mcanena bought 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 13th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $26.50 per share, for a total transaction of $79,500.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer directly owned 30,945 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $820,042.50. This trade represents a 10.74% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Bradley T. Camden bought 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 11th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $26.34 per share, for a total transaction of $26,340.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 51,259 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,350,162.06. The trade was a 1.99% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Over the last ninety days, insiders have bought 14,000 shares of company stock valued at $367,880. Corporate insiders own 0.61% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Kemper

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Huntington National Bank raised its position in Kemper by 187.1% during the fourth quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 646 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 421 shares in the last quarter. Nykredit A S bought a new stake in Kemper in the second quarter worth approximately $31,000. Danske Bank A S bought a new stake in Kemper in the third quarter worth approximately $36,000. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. grew its position in Kemper by 616.7% in the fourth quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 946 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 814 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Kemper by 11,455.6% during the 4th quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,040 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 1,031 shares during the last quarter. 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.