Cerity Partners LLC Buys 8,099 Shares of Kemper Co. (NYSE:KMPR)

Cerity Partners LLC boosted its position in Kemper Co. (NYSE:KMPR) by 155.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 13,299 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 8,099 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC’s holdings in Kemper were worth $815,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. lifted its position in shares of Kemper by 65.2% in the second quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. now owns 623,832 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $37,012,000 after acquiring an additional 246,184 shares in the last quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Kemper by 50.6% in the 2nd quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 68,604 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $4,070,000 after buying an additional 23,043 shares in the last quarter. Phocas Financial Corp. raised its position in Kemper by 37.4% during the third quarter. Phocas Financial Corp. now owns 168,283 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $10,307,000 after purchasing an additional 45,796 shares during the period. First Eagle Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in Kemper by 7.3% during the second quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 281,868 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $16,723,000 after buying an additional 19,098 shares during the period. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Kemper by 254.1% in the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 349,822 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $20,398,000 after purchasing an additional 251,036 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.23% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently issued reports on KMPR. Raymond James increased their price objective on Kemper from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. StockNews.com raised Kemper from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Kemper from $67.00 to $71.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 13th. JMP Securities reiterated a “market outperform” rating and issued a $85.00 price objective on shares of Kemper in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Finally, TD Cowen upped their target price on Kemper from $72.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $79.00.

Kemper Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE KMPR opened at $71.25 on Friday. Kemper Co. has a 52-week low of $45.96 and a 52-week high of $73.01. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $65.48 and its 200-day simple moving average is $62.30. The company has a quick ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 0.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. The firm has a market cap of $4.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.96 and a beta of 0.88.

Kemper (NYSE:KMPR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The insurance provider reported $1.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.34 by $0.28. Kemper had a net margin of 5.86% and a return on equity of 12.03%. The company had revenue of $1.18 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.07 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned ($0.44) EPS. Kemper’s revenue was down 1.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Kemper Co. will post 5.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kemper Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 4th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 18th were issued a $0.31 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 18th. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.74%. Kemper’s dividend payout ratio is currently 29.52%.

Kemper 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.