JPMorgan Chase & Co. Increases Position in Kemper Co. (NYSE:KMPR)

JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in shares of Kemper Co. (NYSE:KMPR) by 102.9% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 201,756 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 102,339 shares during the quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. owned approximately 0.32% of Kemper worth $12,358,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of Kemper by 1.3% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,429,101 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $144,115,000 after buying an additional 30,882 shares during the period. State Street Corp increased its holdings in Kemper by 3.9% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,136,621 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $130,868,000 after acquiring an additional 79,622 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in Kemper by 0.9% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,010,881 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $61,933,000 after acquiring an additional 9,412 shares during the period. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP lifted its holdings in Kemper by 81.1% during the third quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP now owns 838,085 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $51,333,000 after purchasing an additional 375,324 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. grew its position in shares of Kemper by 2.8% in the second quarter. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. now owns 741,775 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $44,010,000 after purchasing an additional 19,982 shares during the period. 86.23% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently weighed in on KMPR shares. TD Cowen upped their price target on shares of Kemper from $72.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. JMP Securities reissued a “market outperform” rating and set a $85.00 target price on shares of Kemper in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. StockNews.com upgraded Kemper from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Raymond James boosted their price target on Kemper from $75.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 26th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Kemper has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $80.40.

Kemper Price Performance

NYSE:KMPR opened at $62.94 on Friday. Kemper Co. has a one year low of $52.24 and a one year high of $73.01. The stock has a market cap of $4.03 billion, a PE ratio of 14.99 and a beta of 0.88. 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 stock has a 50 day moving average price of $67.77 and a 200 day moving average price of $63.71.

Kemper (NYSE:KMPR) last issued its earnings results 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 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 period in the prior year, the business earned ($0.44) EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 1.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Kemper Co. will post 5.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kemper Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 4th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 18th were issued a dividend of $0.31 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 18th. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.97%. 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.