Brokerages Set Kemper Co. (NYSE:KMPR) PT at $79.00

Shares of Kemper Co. (NYSE:KMPR) have received a consensus rating of “Buy” from the five ratings firms that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Four analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 1-year price objective among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $80.40.

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on KMPR shares. Raymond James lifted their price target on shares of Kemper from $75.00 to $82.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. TD Cowen boosted their target price on shares of Kemper from $72.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Kemper from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, JMP Securities reiterated a “market outperform” rating and set a $85.00 price objective on shares of Kemper in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Kemper

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in KMPR. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in shares of Kemper by 102.9% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 201,756 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $12,358,000 after acquiring an additional 102,339 shares during the period. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new position in Kemper in the 3rd quarter valued at about $82,000. Sanctuary Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Kemper in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $278,000. Barclays PLC increased its holdings in shares of Kemper by 72.3% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 29,067 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,781,000 after buying an additional 12,196 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Kemper by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,010,881 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $61,933,000 after buying an additional 9,412 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.23% of the company’s stock.

Kemper Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE KMPR opened at $65.18 on Wednesday. Kemper has a 1 year low of $48.15 and a 1 year high of $73.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 0.22 and a current ratio of 0.22. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $67.36 and its 200 day moving average price is $63.21. The company has a market capitalization of $4.17 billion, a PE ratio of 15.52 and a beta of 0.88.

Kemper (NYSE:KMPR) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The insurance provider reported $1.62 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.34 by $0.28. Kemper had a return on equity of 12.03% and a net margin of 5.86%. 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 firm posted ($0.44) EPS. Kemper’s quarterly revenue was down 1.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that Kemper will post 5.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Kemper Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 4th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 18th were issued a $0.31 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 18th. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.90%. Kemper’s payout ratio is 29.52%.

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.