Kemper (NYSE:KMPR) Hits New 52-Week High on Better-Than-Expected Earnings

Shares of Kemper Co. (NYSE:KMPR) reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Thursday after the company announced better than expected quarterly earnings. The stock traded as high as $67.22 and last traded at $65.46, with a volume of 24615 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $64.16.

The insurance provider reported $1.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.30 by $0.32. Kemper had a return on equity of 7.27% and a net margin of 1.11%. The business had revenue of $1.18 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.07 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned ($0.44) earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.7% compared to the same quarter last year.

Kemper Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 19th were given a $0.31 dividend. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.99%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 19th. Kemper’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 29.52%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on KMPR shares. JMP Securities reissued a “market outperform” rating and set a $85.00 target price on shares of Kemper in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on shares of Kemper from $77.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 6th. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Kemper from $67.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 13th. StockNews.com lowered Kemper from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, September 8th. Finally, Raymond James raised their price objective on Kemper from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Kemper has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $76.20.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Kemper

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in Kemper by 1.3% in the second 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 in the last quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC lifted its stake in shares of Kemper by 3.0% during the 1st quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC now owns 791,145 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $48,988,000 after purchasing an additional 23,285 shares during the last quarter. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Kemper by 2.8% during the 2nd quarter. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. now owns 741,775 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $44,010,000 after purchasing an additional 19,982 shares during the last quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. boosted its position in Kemper by 65.2% during 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 purchasing an additional 246,184 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its stake in Kemper by 1.5% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 568,704 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $33,741,000 after purchasing an additional 8,395 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.23% of the company’s stock.

Kemper Price Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $4.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.83 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 0.22 and a quick ratio of 0.22. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $61.62 and its 200 day simple moving average is $60.56.

Kemper Company 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.